Memory Log
by Shard the Frozen Heart
Summary: Is it possible to remember? After you wake up in this new life, you are set without a memory. But... what if it was possible? Would it be worth it? This fan fiction is set after the events in Mother 3. Sorry, not good at summaries.
1. UCv2 and it's Friend

**Prologue  
****UCv2 and it's Friend**

Rated T for character death, blood, and violence.  
Warning: This is one of those stories when everything comes crashing down before it all gets better.  
And another warning: I put another one of my OC's in here. Don't worry, she's not necessarily a major character in the plot. She's kind of like Boney. There to help, but not a 'main character' so to speak.

On another note, I just finished the fan dubbed version of Mother 3, and I'd just like to say that I LOVE it. I swear, plot-wise, it's the best game EVER. Anyways, I had one of those 'what if' thoughts, and this is what came into being as a result.  
Yes, I realize I really should stop procrastinating and actually finish one of my fan fictions before starting a new one, but I can't help it. I just have an epiphany and go, "HEY! That's a great idea! Lemme go write it down…" _

Well, I hope you like the story, anyway. Just note that I've only read about the game Earthbound, so I don't know much about Ness and his friends. They will be in this story based on what I've learned through friends and wiki, but please don't get mad if I forget something or don't know about something and leave it out.  
However, if you do notice something like that, I'd like to know, so please tell me! Thank you.

NO, I do NOT own the Earthbound/Mother series, or else it would be up to it's ten billionth game by now.

**-Commencing Prologue: UCv2 and it's Friend, please wait-**

Turquoise fur clung to a strange creature as rain poured down. The moon's light was blocked out by the relentless clouds above. It's black bat-like wings flattened against it's body in an attempt to keep her warm, and it's pointed ears struggled to keep from falling over due to the weight of the water on them. Water pooled on top of large red button that was attached to it's back.

Even with the rain pouring down it could hear and smell a familiar being close by. The relatively small creature flicked it's black arrow-shaped tail with happiness. "Don't worry, we'll be there soon, UCv2," a voice said to her. It was flat and without emotion, but she loved it none the less. She was UCv2, a shortened version of 'Ultimate Chimera version Two.' Her color was off, her mouth looked less flawed, although close to the same size at the original, and she was much smaller, but she was an ultimate chimera. She was small because she was young. That's what she was told, anyway. Apparently it takes a long time for a chimera to grow big.

Suddenly her companion stopped. She stopped at well, curious to find out what had troubled her friend. She looked to him. He was human.. or.. mostly human. He wore black army boots with baggy orange pants and a brownish jacket with white artificial fur around the collar. His left hand looked perfectly normal, but his right was replaced with a cannon of sorts. A wire led from the cannon to an odd-looking box half-way into his back. He wasn't wearing it right now, but normally he would have a mask on. Without it you could see he had one red, mechanical eye, and one completely normal green eye, as well as bright red hair, which was currently clinging to his head and face due to being rained on. All of the pigmasks called him 'Commander,' whatever that means. UCv2 didn't know.  
She cocked her head to the side and made an odd kind of 'coo' at him, asking why he had stopped. He looked to her and shook his head before he continued to walk. "Come on, we should get out of this rain. There's only so much of it I can take," he said. She nodded and continued by his side, looking around for such a place that would shelter them.

It took them nearly half an hour to find a dark, gloomy cave, but it kept them out of the rain, which they were thankful for. UCv2 certainly didn't want her only friend to short-circuit while this far from home.

When she was younger no one would get close to her, little alone befriend her. Every once in a great while someone would have to sit or stand by her cage for some reason, and they'd talk. She heard many stories that way. Apparently, a long time ago, her friend had died. Or so everyone thought. His electrical features had been fried as well as most of his organic features, but somehow he had been repaired.

The one who had once controlled him seemed to simply vanish, but soon after a younger version of himself came, saying he was from the past. This younger boy heard stories and tales similar to how she had, but he wasn't filled with interest and curiosity, he was filled with anger and hate. He would sometimes even ramble about getting revenge on specific people. UCv2 didn't like him much, then again she didn't like anyone very much unless they had spoken to her before. This red-head being her only true friend.

A good question to ask now would be, 'Why would they be out in the rain, anyway?'

They were sent on a mission. Simple as that. The objective, however, wasn't so simple. Evidently an idiotic pigmask had gone to an old lab and left something very valuable there. Why he would do such a thing seemed more confusing than it was worth to understand. Still, UCv2 could only imagine what would be so valuable that the young king would send out his two best units to retrieve instead of the pigmask that left it in the first place. Of course, there would be a time to think about that later. For now, sleep was required, and sleep is what she would do.

She lied on the hard stone floor against the side of the cave, curled in a half circle similar to what a cat would do. Nearby she saw her red-headed friend already lying down and trying to rest. After a short moment she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Tomorrow they should finally reach their destination.

**-Prologue has been completed, thank you for your time-**

Thanks for reading! You'll notice I threw in ANOTHER one of my characters, but don't worry, it won't always be in her point of view, just for the prologue, chapter one, and most of chapter two. The rest will be in either Claus, Lucas, or Ness' POV. Sometimes UCv2's.

If you liked it, or even if you didn't like it, please give me a review. I likies them. :3


	2. Searching for the Undetermined

**Chapter One****  
Searching for the Undetermined**

Hey! Welcome back to my fan fiction "Memory Log."  
I hope you enjoy this next chapter, I enjoyed making it. :)

I do not own the Earthbound/Mother series in the slightest way.

**-Commencing Chapter One: Searching for the Undetermined, please wait-**

Morning.  
UCv2 looked up from her sleep to see her friend, the commander, patiently sitting next to her, waiting for her to wake up. She didn't like it when he did this. It made her wonder just how long he had slept before waking up, or if he even slept at all. The dark lines under his eyes that never left made her worry about simple things like that. She tried to ignore them as much as possible, though, knowing she couldn't help her friend even if she tried.

She stretched and the little bird on her head peeped cheerfully and fluffed it's feathers. The commander looked over and got up, realizing that she was now awake. "Ready to go?" he asked her, and she nodded in reply, not wasting a second. Then, without another word, they left towards the abandoned lab. As they sloshed through the rain-soaked landscape UCv2 noticed that is was barely dawn.  
Good. They would get there just before noon if they hurried, and that would mean they could find whatever they were looking for and get back to the cave before it got too late. Despite this being UCv2's first time away from 'home,' she was doing a good job. She had hoped that if she did good enough she wouldn't have to stay in a cage all the time.

Just as UCv2 had predicted, they got to the lab half an hour before noon. It was a large building with an even bigger tower behind it. The lab was covered in vines, and the top of the tower looked like it had been blown up at some point in the past. She noticed her friend pause an awfully long time, and so nudged him gently to make sure he was okay. He looked down, and then back up to the lab. He then started towards it silently, leaving UCv2 utterly confused. Nevertheless, she followed him into the building. It was fairly new on the inside, and looked as if it had just recently been abandoned. Paper was scattered on the ground, and some of the weaker, smaller chimeras were running amok. Tables were flipped, and eerie vials of **something** were shattered on the ground. The two chimeras walked down the hall cautiously, and, after checking every room for what they were looking for, went to the second floor.

UCv2 didn't even know what they were looking for, though, and she was pretty sure the commander didn't, either. All she heard was that they were looking for a chimera, and that they'd know it when they saw it. That wasn't much to go on, but she wasn't about to question her master. Not that she even could if she wanted to… Things were hard when no one understood you, but you understood everyone else. She supposed that she was made that way for a reason, though, and simply dropped it.

Again, they searched the rooms. Room, after room, after room, after room seemed to pass by with no luck of finding this 'odd chimera' they were looking for. Then, finally, they came to the last room. Her friend opened the door and, off in a nearby corner, was something… It looked like a boy, but wires suspended him in the air. His hair was black, and he looked unconscious. _This must be the chimera we were supposed to retrieve_, thought UCv2 as they approached.  
"This looks like our target," the commander said, confirming her thoughts. He looked to the wires and saw that they all led to a small box trapped in vines. He swiftly cut the vines with a yellow-tinted glowing sword that was, just a few seconds before, a mere handle of a sword attached to his belt. The boy fell and UCv2 was quick to duck down and catch him. The bird on her head chirped to tell her that he had landed rather close to the button on her back. Noticing this, her friend reattached the sword to his belt and shifted the boy into a position so that he wouldn't accidentally press the button. He then pet her on the head. "Well done, UCv2. Let's head back, now," he said. She nodded and smiled, happy for the praise.

They left the lab later than they had hoped, but they got back to the cave with little to no trouble. It was well past twilight when they reached it, however. The boy had remained unconscious the entire time. After they had gotten back to the cave it started to rain again. It was just a light drizzle compared to the downpour they had been in on their way here, but even so, UCv2 was happy that they had gotten back to the cave before it had started.

She waited calmly as the Commander lifted the boy from her back onto the cold stone floor. He still didn't even stir. UCv2 was starting to worry. He didn't look completely finished, mechanically, but he did look like he should be awake at the very least. Her friend didn't look worried, but she could tell by his actions that he was. He paused before looking over to her. "You should sleep. I'll keep watch to see if he wakes up," he said. UCv2 wasn't going to fall for that. He already had black lines under his eyes and looked like he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep in days if not weeks. To show her opinion UCv2 let out a snort and sat down next to the black-haired boy. Her friend blinked in confusion before understanding. He, for once, let a smile barely touch his face before going deadpan again and nodding, lying down a few feet away. She smiled and watched him before looking down at the boy. He was different from most chimeras, like her friend. She hoped the boy would be like him. She would like another friend in the lonely place she called 'home.'

**-Chapter One has been completed, thank you for your time-**

Yes, I know that the first chapter is even smaller than the prologue, but bear with me, okay? It'll get better… I think.  
Well, anyways, review this for me, okay? I love-love-love reviews! ^.^

Btw- can anyone guess who the new black-haired chimera is?  
Go ahead, guess! I wanna know who you all think it is. :P


	3. The Newcomer

**Chapter Two****  
The Newcomer**

Yay for the second chapter!  
Hey, guys! I might actually end this fan fiction instead of just leaving it with a cliffhanger or completely blowing it off for months and months on end! Isn't it EXCITING? HAHA!  
…erm.. Sorry. Got carried away. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter! :D

Thank you, **KamirouBa** for your review!  
I will indeed continue this, because currently I am finding it very fun to make chapters of. And by the way, you are a very good guesser, as we will all find out with the end of this chapter. xD

I know how this story is going to play out for about half way, but then my ideas stop, so this story might come to a standstill there, but oh well. So far, if you go listen to 'the bird and the worm' by the used then that is a great song that matches this fan fic perfectly. I thank my friend for showing me the song in the first place, it's helped inspire future chapters. :P

I do not own the earthbound/mother series!

**-Commencing Chapter Two: The Newcomer, please wait-**

According to UCv2's mental clock it was nearing two in the morning. She had noticed her red-headed friend awake quite a few times, always looking fearful of something. She assumed he had a lot of nightmares, and therefore didn't get much sleep. That would explain why those dark rings under his eyes never left.

All night she had watched the little boy they had found the day before. Not once did he stir in the slightest. He seemed to sleep peacefully, though, unlike the commander. She was starting to get tired, and she could tell her energy levels were rapidly lowering. The yellow bird on her head had fallen asleep long ago, and hadn't woken since. Her ears and wings drooped as she started to doze off, but instantly awoke when she heard something. Opening her eyes she realized the black-haired chimera was finally awaking, slowly stirring from his deep sleep.  
She wondered if she should awake her friend, but before she could the boy opened his eyes. Both of them were mechanical, and both glowed a crimson red. She kept her mouth closed so as not to intimidate him. He looked around, as if confused. She noticed that he showed much more emotion than her friend did. Upon seeing her, the boy rolled onto his back and gasped, crawling away.  
Still trying to give the impression that she was friendly and not going to cause him any harm, she backed away and let out a soft, kind of kitten-like, meow. The boy calmed down, but now seemed even more confused.

UCv2 cocked her head to the side at him, and in return he slowly gave a small, nervous smile. "Y-you don't seem very bad… Say, you don't happen to know where I am, do you?" he asked her as if talking to any wild animal you'd wake up to if you just happened to wake up in the middle of nowhere. She nodded and smiled, but continued to try and keep her mouth shut. Having a mouth bigger than your head filled with sharp teeth tended to make others nervous, especially if you smiled at them. He seemed surprised that UCv2 could understand him, little alone answer him, even if it was only a nod.

Of course, the nodding motion woke the little yellow bird on her head up, making it let out a chirp. The newest chimera's smile grew less nervous, and he slowly reached a hand out to touch the ultimate chimera. UCv2 did nothing, hoping to gain his trust. And, it did just that. The boy let out a chuckle, but when he tried to get up he felt the wires tug on his back. He looked down in surprise to see the box that had gotten stuck in the vines. "Wh-what the..? What… happened? Why…" he couldn't think of the right words to form a complete sentence, and all he felt when he tried to search his memories was confusion.  
UCv2 could see it on his face. He didn't understand the price for being a chimera. This is how her friend looked when he found her in her cage. She felt pity for him, but there was nothing she could do.

"Wait…" he said, as if he had actually been able to grip something in his memories.

She looked up in confusion and surprise. Had he really? Before he could continue she heard her friend stir, jerking up with fear. Another nightmare? That would be the third one he had this night. But, she couldn't dwell on that, and neither could he.  
The boy, having not even noticed him, flinched and looked to him in surprise. "Wh-who are you?" he asked. UCv2 could tell that he was trying to keep calm, but fear was flooding in, taking over. Something was wrong. Did he truly remember his past? As far as she knew none of the chimeras remembered anything from their past once they woke up.

The commander quickly regained his deadpan look and said in a monotone voice, "Oh. You're awake."  
"W-what? I asked who you were! Answer me!" he yelled. UCv2 frowned and let out a soft whine as the boy started to get a threatening tone in his voice. He looked over in confusion at her, but then looked back to the red-head.  
"Calm down, there is no need for threats. I am the commander, and that is what I go by," he replied.  
"C-commander? Of what?" the boy asked suspiciously.  
"Of the pigmask army, but you will know of that soon enough," the commander answered.  
The black-haired boy grew a look of horror on his face. "Oh, I know of that already. They're the ones that did this to me! Whatever you're trying to do, leave me out of it!" he shouted, getting to his feet.  
The commander was showing emotion. As I said before, that is a rare thing. He definitely looked surprised, though. UCv2 looked similarly surprised. "You remember..?" he asked, the look never leaving his face.

"What? Of course I remember! How could I forget?" the boy asked bitterly.  
"That… That is not possible," the red-head said, his face going back to being completely expressionless.  
"What do you mean? Don't you think you'd remember being tortured as your limbs were replaced by cold metal? I know I do," the boy growled, lifting a metallic hand.  
The commander lifted his right hand, the one replaced with a cannon. His face was blank, but UCv2 knew that statement had probably struck a cord within him.  
The boy looked surprised, but then it turned to confusion. "You..?" he hesitated before completing his question, "You don't remember your past?"  
"No, I have no need to. I know I was found dying, and that's all I need to know," he said sternly.  
"How do you know that if you can't remember your past?" he asked skeptically.  
"I was told so."  
"Told so? You didn't stop to think that they could've been lying to you?"  
"There was no need."  
"No need? No need? Are you mad? They probably did the same thing to you that they did to me, only you got brainwashed in the process!" he shouted.

UCv2 whined. She didn't know what to do. Nothing was making sense to her. She didn't know if she should side with one or just hope that they could resolve the issue themselves. Even if she sided with one, which one would she believe? The boy made a lot of sense, but he could be malfunctioning. The commander was her only friend, but it was true that he didn't remember anything from his past.  
"I assure you that I am perfectly fine, and do not wish to remember my past. If it was truly that great or important I don't think I would have forgotten it, and as far as my intelligence extends you could be malfunctioning without awareness of it," the commander said, saying exactly what UCv2 had thought just moments before.  
"What? Malfunctioning? What do you mean?" the boy asked, his bitter look changing to one of confusion and alarm.  
"For example, your mind could be filling your memory log with false information."  
"What? Th-that's not possible…"  
"It is. I have seen it once before, however rare it might be. I suggest you calm down and come with us to make sure it's not an error, or else it could get worse."  
"Huh? N-no! I won't! Even if it is a 'malfunction,' I don't want to have anything to do with those.. pig-things!"  
"Then how do you suggest we find out?"

The boy went quiet, looking away. He didn't know, but he didn't want to feel that pain again… How could he find out? Nothing came to mind. What did he do from here? Again, nothing. He looked to his metallic hand sadly. He knew his past. There were bits and pieces missing, but he knew most of it. One thing he didn't remember is how he got to that lab. He was talking with someone… a girl? And.. a boy came up… These memories looked half-gone, but they were there. None of the people had faces, and all of them looked blurred slightly. He could see their mouths move, talking. He remembered saying something back with spite, but what? The boy grabbed him, led him away. He struggled, then everything cuts off into darkness. The next memory is a small clearing with sunflowers, and talking with a boy just about his age. Again, there were no faces, and everything is slightly blurred, although not as much this time. The voices… At first, seemed to be mute again, but then he heard something… like whispers. He couldn't quite make out what they say before it cuts off again into darkness. The next few memories are ones he wished were muted, ones he wished he could forget. Pain flared through him like fire, and he could feel wires twisting under his skin. He shook his head to clear the thoughts.

"Well?"

He flinched as he came back to. It was the other boy. Now that he looked at him again he could tell that he looked similar to the boy in his memories, but not quite the same. Were they related? Did they know each other? Questions started adding up at a rapid pace, and he decided not to think of it for the time being. Instead, an idea came to mind.  
"These faces… I'll find them. They must know me," he said, nodding with determination.  
"What 'faces' do you speak of?" the commander asked.  
"The ones in my memories. If I don't find them, then I'll go with you," he said.  
"I am uncertain if that's a good idea in your condition."  
"What do you mean?"  
The commander pointed to the box lying next to me that was attached to my back with tangled wires. "Oh," was the black-haired boy's reply, a look of dread creeping onto his face as he looked at it.  
"Here. For now just strap it to you with this," the commander said, handing the boy a long piece of cloth that he had been using to hold his hair out of his face.  
The boy took it from him and nodded, mumbling a rather unsure 'thanks.'  
UCv2 approached him and cocked it's head with a soft, kind of awkward, half meow, half wheeze.  
He smiled at it and rubbed it between it's eyes.  
The commander seemed surprised at this, although the expression quickly faded. "UCv2 seems to like you… How unusual," he said the last part quietly so that they wouldn't hear.  
"UCv2? That's almost as silly as having 'Commander' for a name," the boy chuckled lightly. Again, the commander was completely deadpan.  
UCv2 smiled, seeing some of the tension pass, now.

"Oh, and I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you my name. It's Ness."

**-Chapter Two has been completed, thank you for your time-**

Yay for long-er chapter! Too bad they didn't even leave the cave in this one. :I  
And- Another yay for the fact that we all know who the mysterious newcomer is, now! Yes, I made him a chimera. I'd tell you something else, but that would be a HUUUUGE spoiler, so I won't.

But anyway, hope you liked it, and please review!


	4. Finding Hope

**Chapter Three  
Finding Hope**

YEAH! Welcome to the third chapter of this new fan fiction! Surprised it made it this far? Yep, me too. Anyways, now we're finally going to get out of the cave, since chapter two was in the cave the entire time.  
Hope you enjoy, see ya at the end!

Oh, but before I start, thank you, **Akita Daichu** for the review!  
In reply: Nonsense! You're good at reviews. Your reviews make me happy. ^-^  
I thought it only made sense that 'the commander' (hint hint) be.. Ah… mostly unemotional. xD  
And- In this chapter you actually learn a bit more of where this is going, so I hope you like it! :)

I do not own the Earthbound/Mother series! …I wish I did. ;-;

**-Commencing Chapter Three: Finding Hope, please wait-**

Ness looked out at the landscape from under the cave outcropping. The sun was just beginning to appear over the hills in the distance. The cloth the commander had given him was now tied tightly to his chest under under his arms, holding the attached box to his back. Water dripped from the sides of the rock from last night's small rain shower.

"Well? Where are we going to searching first?" a voice called out behind him._  
_He looked back and saw the commander himself. "We? You're coming, too?" he asked.  
"My mission was to retrieve you and bring you back to main base, and so I shall. However, if you insist on searching for these 'faces' beforehand then I have no choice but to follow until this nonsense is resolved," he explained.  
"I see," was Ness' short reply as he frowned with disappointment. He had hoped to have finally gotten through to him, but it seemed to be of no use.

UCv2 approached Ness with a purr, and he smiled and pet her. At least she wasn't completely emotionless like 'Mr. Blank,' also known as 'Commander.'

"Heh, you know, I don't think UCv2 matches you very well. How about a real name?" Ness offered with a smile. She perked up and cocked her head to the side curiously, understanding his words.  
He thought to himself, putting a hand on his chin to emphasize that fact, before snapping his mechanical fingers and saying, "Bella. That's a good name, right? I'll call you Bella."

She smiled at her new name and licked him like a happy puppy dog. He chuckled and gently nudged her away goodheartedly, saying, "Okay, okay, Bella it is!_"_

The commander seemed to disapprove of this 'Ness' naming UCv2, as he frowned when he did. "If you are done, then perhaps we could start on this 'journey' of your's," he said, seemingly annoyed._  
_Ness quieted his laughing as he looked back to the commander. "Alright, I suppose if you want to go that badly…" he trailed away with a smile.  
"It's not a matter of 'wanting to,' it's a matter of 'having to.' The faster we leave, the faster the 'journey' will go, and the faster we can get back to the main base," the commander said, monotone once more._  
_Ness frowned. "Okay! Jeez…" he said the last part quietly to himself, then sighed. "Before we leave let me try to remember where some of these people I know are," he said, sitting down.  
"It is difficult to remember?" the commander questioned. He, having no memories of his past, wouldn't know.  
"Well.. Kind of. It's difficult to explain. Just wait for a minute, okay," he said, then closed his eyes.

As he shut his eyes and let darkness take over he saw the exact same thing as before: blurred visions, muted conversations, and faceless people. His thoughts and memories landed on the least blurred. It was the one just before the memories of the lab. It looked grassy and fairly empty. A dirt road led the way as he followed another boy close to his age with blond hair. His face, like all the others, was blank. An inaudible conversation of whispers continued on as he looked off to the side to see a patch of sunflowers. Besides the dirt road and patch of sunflowers it didn't have any good landmarks to go by. It was a cliff, and it overlooked a rather forested area, but with so many forests and cliffs on the islands it seemed hopeless. All the other memories turned out to be either just as hopeless as the first, or were too blurred to make out anything at all.

Giving up, Ness returned to the present time with a sigh. He opened his eyes and saw Bella lying next to him patiently, while the commander sat up against the cave wall looking out at the scenery.

"Well, the memory we're best off looking into first in hopes of finding someone who knows me only showed me a cliff with sunflowers looking over a forest and a boy around my age with blond hair. Looks kind of like you, Commander," he said._  
_The commander paused, then got up from his position and said, "Very well. Scanning map for cliffs with surrounding forests… Four possible locations."  
"Four? I guess that isn't too bad," Ness said to himself, not looking forward to the long journey ahead of him to find the place they were looking for, little alone the faceless boy in his memories that he had been talking to there.  
"The closest one is approximately fifteen miles away to the north, past the lab where we found you. The second closest is seventeen miles to the northwest. The other two are over thirty miles away and less likely to be the ones we're looking for. Which one do you wish to investigate first?" the commander asked.

Ness paused. He didn't want to even look at the lab that he had come from again, but if that was the direction with the closest cliff, he would have to.  
"The closest," he decided. The commander nodded and turned. "Then we should head this way," he said, turning sharply before walking out of the cave towards the lab once more.

Bella followed without any complaints. She didn't mind if it delayed their mission or not, it gave her some time outside of a cage, and that made her happy.

Ness followed along side the UCv2 with a slightly anxious look on his face and a hesitant step. Not because of Bella, but because he wasn't sure if he could trust the commander just yet. He only followed him now because he would have no sense of direction otherwise.

Just as before, they got to the lab around noon. The trail was long and, for an unfinished chimera, treacherous. Ness had ended up riding on the UCv2's back to avoid danger._  
_He looked up at the large building with a grimace as his memories started to become more clear. With a shudder he cut off the thoughts and turned to the commander. "How much further is it?" he asked.

The commander looked to him out of the corner of his eyes before looking back to the lab and saying, "four and a half miles."

Ness sighed. It still seemed like a long ways away, but he felt a lot closer, now. "Alright, let's keep going. We can make it there before the sun sets if we don't take too long," he said, and the commander nodded before making his way around the large plant-overrun facility. Bella followed, and Ness clung to her back as she did.

They trekked through the forested area, passing by both normal creatures and small chimeras, though sometimes one of the larger chimeras would show itself. Besides the occasional Cattlesnake, nothing dared get near them.

After about an hour of forestland they finally started spiraling up cliffs, and after two more hours, got to the place they had been searching for. It did, indeed, over look the forest, but the ground was more of an outcropping, and there was no plant life other than a few weeds or vines. Ness got down from Bella's back and sighed. "No, this isn't it at all… It was green, with sunflowers. It almost looked… happy," he murmured, looking down at the trees.

"Then we'll keep searching. If no such place is found than we will continue as planned and head to the main base," the commander said.

Ness felt a tingling sensation zip down his spine. He shuddered afterward, feeling the dread of seeing the pig-faced things once more before he was even close. He hoped that such a place existed, and that he would find that boy there. It was his only hope. Even if they found the place, there was a good chance that the thick-headed commander still wouldn't believe him until he also found the boy he met with in his memories.

Looking out over the landscape, past the forest and the odd tower with the lab, he could see a little village. It was small, but he could see it. He also saw a city, a very large city, that looked as if it had been scooped from the earth with a spoon, then set back down in the exact same place. The buildings looked like they were crumbling to pieces from where he stood on the cliff edge. He felt like asking about the two landmarks, but then decided against it when he saw that the commander was looking rather impatient for someone so impassive._  
_Bella had never seen her friend show so much emotion in one day. She quite literally found it amazing how one boy-turned-chimera could keep pulling emotions from his hardened heart.

After his brief survey of the land, Ness turned and nodded, saying, "Alright, let's start towards the next spot."_  
_The commander looked to him, deadpan as always, and questioned, "You plan on traveling there through the night?"  
"Yeah. Earlier you said it was seventeen miles to the northwest, right? We went fifteen miles north, didn't we? If I'm correct, we'll be heading straight towards that little town over there," he paused to point out over the horizon to the little village he had noticed earlier before continuing, "We could stop there to rest instead of in a cave or something like that." He had no clue how he had figured all that out, it seemed to just come to him, so he didn't question it. _Must be a robot thing…_ he thought to himself.

The commander looked to the town and paused. "If we do that UCv2 would have to be left out, and I'm not so sure the villagers will take kindly to chimeras, even if we are mostly human," he said pointedly.

Ness sighed quietly, thinking about his options.  
Then, something came to mind. "We could find some kind of disguise. I'm sure Bella wouldn't mind waiting for us outside the town," he said, then looked to the ultimate chimera.

She cooed sadly in return, but she knew it would help her friend's nightmare-filled head to sleep better, and so quickly perked back up and looked to the commander with a reluctant smile.

He looked between the two. He wasn't at all sure where they'd get the disguises, and he didn't know what UCv2 thought about the plan, but they both seemed to push it forward, so he gave in with a small nod. "Very well, let's go," he said, turning around and starting to walk.  
Ness nodded with a smile, happy he got through to him. He crawled back onto Bella and gripped her fur as she started back down the mountainous area towards the forest.

The sun had set and it was well into the night when they finally got to the forest. They had taken a different path entirely so that they'd be closer to their destination when they finally left the mountains. Looking back as they started into the forest, Bella saw large, jagged claw marks in the side of the cliff. _I wonder what happened here?_ she thought curiously, but didn't stick to the thought, simply turned back to following her red headed friend.

After wandering through the forest with little sense of direction, they found a path that ended to their right with a large wooden cabin. To the left it continued into a clearing. Looking out into the clearing, they saw a crossroad, along with the town just past it, and a graveyard to the east. Ness slowly dropped himself to the ground, off of the UCv2. He petting her behind the ear as he said, "Sorry, Bella, but I think you should stay in the forest tonight. We'll come back to get you tomorrow, alright?"

Bella cooed sorrowfully, but nodded and nudged at his hand. The commander still couldn't believe how quickly the boy and 'Bella' had grown attached to each other. "Take care, UCv2," the red head said with an orderly nod. Bella smiled and nodded in reply before frowning and turning away. The bird on her head chirped dejectedly as it fluffed it's feathers against the cold midnight air, and she purred to reassure it.

Ness looked back as he and the commander got closer to the town. UCv2 was nowhere to be seen. Looking back to the town in front of him, he sighed. "We still have to find disguises," he said. The commander didn't look to him, but nodded silently. Ness looked over to him and asked, "Where do you think we should look first?" The commander glanced to him from the corner of his eyes before saying, "Our best option seems to be robbing a store."

Ness groaned. He didn't want to act like a thief and rob some helpless store of it's wares. "Are you sure there's no other way?" he asked, hoping for something.

"If you are hoping for something that doesn't include criminal activities then you're not going to like any of the options we currently have," the commander replied.

"Alright, fine… Where's a clothing store?"  
"My internal map is telling me there's one three blocks south and one block west of where we are now."  
"Okay, one, don't say 'internal map.' It sounds gross. Two, how do you plan on stealing from the store once we get there?"  
"Hm. My mistake. I assumed since you thought of coming here that you would also be the one to plan for these sort of problems."  
"Wh-what?" Ness suddenly caught his breath as he got a bit too loud for comfort in the sleeping village, then continued quietly, "I'm not a criminal, I can't think of that kind of stuff."

The commander didn't reply, but turned down another road and stopped in front of a relatively big clothing store. Then he turned to Ness and said, "Very well, we shall follow my plan of action." He checked the door. Upon seeing that it was locked he turned away, took a few steps, then turned back to the door. He then aimed his cannon at it. "What the- what are you-?" Ness was cut off as he shot the cannon, shattering the front door. "Oh my god! What the hell are you doing?" Ness tried to 'quietly shout.'

"If you want a disguise you better hurry, someone would have woken up from that," the commander said, stepping into the building and quickly finding his disguise.

Ness whined, but ran in and did the same. He hated this.

They had gotten away before anyone found out where the loud explosion had come from, and quickly changed into their disguises, hiding their clothes where they hoped no one would find them.

The commander had found a brown hoodie about the same color as his uniform with a pair of kakies to match. He had found a hoodie big enough to conceal his arm cannon and the box attached to his back, even if it was really loose around his chest and waist. He wore the hoodie up, even though he didn't have to. When Ness asked why he simply replied, "It feels right," much to the black haired boy's confusion. Under the khakis he wore his normal uniform boots, but the khakis did a good job of hiding them.

The only thing Ness stole was a black jacket that zipped up the front to hide his robotic parts, and a purple baseball cap. The cap was to hide his red, mechanical eyes, but he too just felt 'right' with it on.

On their way to the inn Ness looked to the commander and said, "You know, you can't go around telling everyone your 'Commander.' Why don't you think of a better name? Y'know, just for the time being."  
He glanced to Ness, and paused. He couldn't remember the name he had before his memories vanished, so he had to think of another. After a moment he simply said, "Timothy." Ness instantly burst into laughter, and the commander looked to him, confused.  
"I-I'm not sure if that's worse or better," he said through laughs.  
The commander turned back to the road. "It will have to do for now," he said.

They found the inn moments later, and walked in. They were greeted by a lady as soon as they entered. "Hello, welcome to the Yado Inn! Would you like a room to stay in?" she asked, though she paused when she saw they were only teenagers.  
"Yes, please," Ness said, smiling, despite the fact that he had to hold his head down to hide his eyes.  
"Alright, that'll be 500 DP, and I'll need your names, as well," she replied.

When Ness hesitated and stuttered the commander stepped forward and placed the right amount on the desk. Ness sighed with relief and said, "O-okay, my name is Ness, and this is," he paused and indicated to the commander before saying, "Timothy." The lady nodded and smiled warmly as she took the amount and said, "Last door on the left."

The commander walked past the other chimera silently, going towards the room. Ness said a quiet, "thanks," and followed him.

When they got to the last room 'Tim,' aka Commander, was quick to notice it had two beds, one on each side of the room, with nightstands and lamps, but that was it. He sat on the bed to the left of the room, glancing around again. He hadn't slept on a bed away from main base in a long time, so it all seemed very foreign.

Ness, however, couldn't wait to get into the bed. He flopped onto it and didn't even care when his cap fell off of his head and onto the pillow. "Ahhh, finally. A bed!" he said, hugging the pillow close to his head.

The commander watched him for a moment. When he didn't move anymore he started to take off his boots. He then paused to glance to the door cautiously before taking off his hoodie. He pulled his arm cannon in front of him and carefully removed the cord leading from the box on his back to his cannon. He opened the drawer to the nightstand and placed the wire in it, closing it before putting his hoodie on. He lied back on the bed once he was done, facing the ceiling. After about an hour he finally fell asleep.

When he 'awoke' he only saw darkness. No, he wasn't awake. He had this dream before. He always knew how it would turn out. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a silhouetted figure. He would feel a cool breeze, even though the darkness was almost blinding. Still, that silhouette would just barely be visible. It's peaceful presence making him feel calm and at peace for a reason he didn't know or understand. The ground would shake and growl as if something very large was coming. He would hear whispers telling him to run, but when he did the ground gave out beneath him.

He would fall and fall and fall, but the only thing that told him he was falling was the wind rushing past him as gravity pulled harder and harder until he landed painlessly on an invisible floor. Getting up, he saw nothing but something that glowed in the distance, barely visible in the darkness, like a speck of hope.  
He never knew whether or not to trust it. He would reach out his hand, but then pull it back. _What if it was just false hope?_ When he did then he could hear whispering again. Quiet sobs filled his ears and he looked to the speck again. _Was it crying?_ He tried to walk towards it, but it was farther than he realized. He sped up more and more until he was at a dead run. He reached out his hand to the light in the darkness, but it was always just out of reach. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't reach it. As more sobs filled his mind he tried to go faster, but nothing helped. Behind him the ground was shaking again.  
He dared not look back as a scream pierced darkness. Suddenly he wasn't trying to catch up with the light anymore, he was running for his life. Then the darkness of his dream crumbled away and he jolted upright in the bed with a gasp.  
Looking around, he saw that the sun was already in the sky, and he was still in the inn. Getting up with a sigh, he looked to Ness' bed. The black haired boy was still asleep. Ignoring him for now, he got his boots back on and the wire he had taken off the night before.

Once he finished he shook Ness' sleeping figure by his shoulder, an attempt to wake him.  
He moaned tiredly and blinked his eyes as they tried to focus. "Wha..? Oh.. Ugh, do we have to leave right now?" he asked tiredly, rolling over.

"Yes. A good goal today would be to find the cliff we went searching for yesterday and see if it's the right one. If we get that done by noon we will have plenty of time to formulate a new goal," the commander explained to the still-sluggish Ness.  
It took him a moment to understand what his red headed friend said before he groaned and leaned up, rubbing his eyes childishly. Taking that as a sign that he was getting up, the commander backed away and took the time to look out the window. It wasn't a very nice view, seeing as all there was to look at were trees, but that didn't seem to bother him.

Once Ness was ready to go they headed out of the room. They were then greeted by the lady from the night before. "Good morning! Have good rest?" she asked sweetly. Ness nodded and said, "Yeah, thanks." His companion remained as silent as always. "Alright, well, have a nice time in Tazmily Village!" she called as they walked out of the building. Ness waved his goodbye.  
The commander paused when he said the name of the town. He got an odd sense of nostalgia when he heard it. Shaking it off, he continued down the road.

They walked down the road and turned at a corner so that they headed back towards the crossroads. They both paused when they heard someone speak. "Hey, did you hear? That new clothing shop down the street got robbed," a young lady said, facing another girl around the same age. "What? No way!" was the other girl's reply. "Yeah way! I heard the entire front door was blown away as if a bomb had gone off," the first one added. "Wow!"

The commander didn't need to hear anymore. He gripped Ness' arm tightly and started speed-walking out of town. Ness didn't argue or fight, simply tried to keep up.

Following the commanders mental map once more, they turned east at the crossroads. They followed the path past an old man and kept going. At the end of the road was one grave all to itself upon a cliff. The grass grew green and healthy here, and when Ness turned to look around he saw sunflowers.  
"This is it! This is the right one! I didn't remember that grave being there, though. I guess I didn't pay much attention," he said, then looked at the letters written on the tombstone. "Here lies Hinawa, wife of Flint, mother of Lucas and Claus," he read out loud. "Hm.. Maybe the boy in my memories was one of 'Hinawa's' sons?" he wondered, looking to the commander. The red head looked like he was in a daze. "Commander? Hello? Hey, snap out of it!" Ness shouted, and he came back to.  
Looking at Ness in confusion, he then shook his head once more and said, "I'm fine."

There was a gust of wind that nearly knocked him over just moments after. Ness had to hold onto his hat to keep it from blowing away. The commander's hood fell back, but once the gust was over he pulled it back up. "Wow, that was an enormous blast of air," Ness commented once it had died. The commander didn't reply, but instead turned and started down the hill.

"Hey, wait, where are you going?" Ness asked, turning to follow.

"We're going to look for this boy, are we not?" the commander questioned, looking to him with a deadpan look on his face.

"Oh, right… Okay," Ness said, speeding up his pace.

**-Chapter Three has been completed, thank you for your time-**

All done with chapter three! …And I really hate how abruptly this one ended here, but oh well. I'll try to finish the next chapter a little better.

On another note: you can always count on 'the commander' to help you if you locked yourself out of the house! Just don't expect your door to be in one piece when he's done. xD

Hope you liked this chapter and will stay tuned for the next one. Please review! Thank you. :)


	5. Mysteries of the Past and Present

**Chapter Four****  
Mysteries of Past and Present**

Wow, already on chapter four? I'm amazed.  
Well, this chapter changes the point of view completely for the first little bit, so we get to see things happen this way for a while, then we'll go back to the commander and Ness later on in the same chapter.

Btw- When I wrote this I was so tired, I hadn't slept in two days, so sorry in advance if it's messy or seems to go by too quickly. I tried to fix it, but I might have missed something.

I now thank **Super Shadowsonic** for the review!  
Hah, you figured it out this early in the story! Nice! Yes, His emotions are slowly starting to show more and more from having someone similar to a brother by his side. :P

I also thank **Akita Daichu **once more for another review. ^-^  
Hehe, I was going to make him say 'bob,' but I just couldn't, I'm too much of a commander/masked man fan. -and yes, you will have to wait to find out! xD

And another thank you! This one's to **weeeeeeeee**!  
I'm glad you like it. I try hard to make my stories as original as possible. :)

This is the last one, and it's for **Fire-dies**.  
Yes, yes it is. xD

I do not own the Earthbound/Mother series.

**-Commencing Chapter Four: Mysteries of Past and Present, please wait-**

The sun was just rising, but even so it was just high enough to shine brightly in the room. It looked like a wooden cabin with a dresser and a mirror above it off to the side. A bed was place to the right of the window, and a nightstand beside it. In the bed with blankets neatly folded over him was a boy. He was a teenager by the looks of it. As he leaned up and stretched the covers fell off. He then folded them to the side and got to his feet. He walked over to the dresser and got out his clothes for the day. He took a shower and put them on before looking in the mirror to fix his blond hair. Once he was done he smiled and left the room. He walked down the stairs and was greeted by his father, who was getting ready to do his daily chores.

After a quick breakfast he said goodbye and headed into the town. He was stopped and greeted by almost everyone he passed, but he didn't mind. He talked, then headed away from town. "Hey, Lucas, where are you off to today?" he heard someone say. Looking over he saw it was his old friend. "Hello, Duster. I was just going to see if mom needed more flowers," he said.  
"Ah. Well, be careful. I heard some shop got it's door blown to bits. If that happened who knows whatever stole from them might do next," Duster replied.  
"A shop's door was blown to bits?" Lucas asked, eyes wide.  
"Yeah. I don't know if it's true, though. I was heading there to find out," he said.  
"Oh. O-okay… Yeah. I'll go check it out when I'm done," Lucas said, then continued walking. "See you then."  
"Yeah, see you," Duster replied, and limped away.

Lucas walked through the graveyard silently, waving his hello to the gravedigger before continuing. He turned to walk up a little hill to get to his mother's gave, but once at the top he stopped dead in his tracks. Two people were there. Neither of them looked familiar. He was about to make himself known to the two when a gust of wind ripped past. Through the wind he saw something he'd never expect. One of them lost his hood, but that's not what surprised him. It was the fact that he looked exactly like his dead twin brother. Lucas, in shock and confusion, froze in his place.

The other boy looked to the red-head and made a comment about the wind, but it seemed to go in one ear and out the other for Lucas. The blond turned and ran. He didn't know why, but he had to get away. Was it really him? No, it couldn't be. Could it? Lucas raced through town. He seemed to be on autopilot, as he didn't have a clue as to were he was going or what he was doing. He was brought back to his senses as he tripped, skidding to the ground painfully.

Getting up, he could feel pain on his arms and knees, but didn't check over them. Thoughts and memories flooded his mind, making the world blur. He faintly heard someone call his name, but didn't stop. Suddenly he felt a hand grip his shoulder, hindering him from going any farther. He turned and saw it was Duster again. Lucas could feel his eyes start to sting as they threatened to overflow with tears as the thought of his brother filled his mind. All this time of managing with the pain, only to break at the sight of someone that couldn't be his brother, even if he wanted it to be.  
Duster looked confused by the look Lucas gave him, but managed to ask, "What happened?"

"Th-there… C-C-Claus… H-he…" Lucas tried to form a sentence, but it only came out as muttered nonsense.  
"Lucas, what happened?" Duster insisted.  
Suddenly Lucas couldn't stand it anymore. He burst into tears.

Duster hesitated, but then sighed, patting his friend on the back. "It's okay. Come on, we need to bandage those scrapes," he said.  
It was then Lucas saw the bloody gashes on his knees. He sniffled, but wiped most of his tears away and nodded. "Okay," he said, though it was barely a whisper.

They walked into the Yado Inn together. The girl at the counter greeted, "Welcome to the Yado Inn-" She stopped herself when she realized it was just Duster and Lucas. "Oh, hello Duster- Omigosh! Lucas, dear, what happened to you?" she asked, walking around the counter to look at the boy's injuries.

He quietly and nervously said, "I-I tripped."  
"My, that must have been some fall! Here, come with me. We'll get you all fixed up," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him away. Duster opened his mouth to say something, but by the time he managed to say "I" they had walked away. With a sigh of defeat he turned and left, figuring he couldn't do much more, now.

He walked out of the inn and noticed two boys come into town. They were the same ones Lucas saw up by his mother's grave, but of course, Duster didn't know that. He didn't even know what he had been trying to tell him. He just knew he saw two mysterious people, and wearing clothes from the shop that had been broken into. "Hey, you two," he called. The one closer to him stopped and turned to look at him, but kept his head down. The second one, who was wearing a baseball cap that overshadowed his eyes, then did the same before hesitantly saying, "Oh, h-hello."  
"I don't think I've seen you two around here before, were you brought here for specific reason?" Duster asked.  
"U-um, well, not rea-" the second was cut off by the first, who wore a hoodie. "Actually, yes," he said. The one who got cut off spun to look at the first. He looked shocked. The first ignored him and asked, "Do you know of anyone by the name of Lucas or Claus?"  
Duster looked quizzically at them, but answered, "Ah, well, Claus died two years back, but Lucas is still around."  
"Hm. Very well, do you know where we could find him?" the one in the hoodie asked.  
Duster wasn't sure if he was willing to trust the two teenagers, but ignoring his suspicions that they could be thieves for the time being, he nodded and said, "Yeah, I could show you. He's this way."  
The second one took confused glances between his friend and Duster before smiling again and saying, "Uh, thanks! That would save us a lot of time." He then followed behind Duster as he led the way.  
The first nodded after a moment and followed a short distance behind the two.

Duster once again found himself inside the Yado Inn, but this time he was next to the two strangers from before. The lady smiled and greeted, "Oh hello, again. I see you met Ness and Timothy already, hm, Duster?"  
"Ah, so they do have names," Duster smiled jokingly.  
Ness let out a nervous laugh before saying, "Y-yeah."  
'Timothy,' however, only showed a faint hint of a frown.  
"They say they're looking for Lucas, is he still here?" Duster asked.  
"Oh, actually, he left pretty quickly after I fixed him up. Said he had to tell his father something. You'll probably be able to find him if you go up towards their house," she replied.  
Ness frowned with a quiet whine, but then smiled again. "Well, thanks anyway. Can you point me to their house?" he asked.

She nodded and did just that, however Duster still insisted that he show them the way. They reluctantly agreed and were soon following him out of town towards the sea to the south. After a short while the concrete pathway ended, continuing further up hill as a dirt road. They followed that until they reached a rather big cabin at the top of a cliff looking out over the sea. Right next to the house was a rather new-looking barn. A man with a cowboy hat was playing shepherd as he tried to get his small herd of sheep back into the barn.

Duster waved when he saw him. "Hey, Flint! Have you seen Lucas?" he called.  
Flint looked up, paused, then nodded with a short, "Yeah." He then got the last sheep into the barn before adding, "He's inside."

The three followed Flint inside and waited on a couch off to the side as Flint went upstairs to get Lucas.

After a few minutes of waiting Ness tried to start up a conversation. His attempt ended in failure as 'Timothy' refused to say anything and Duster failed to keep track of the subject. At that point Duster was starting to understand why Ness had been so shocked when Tim had spoken just after they had met. A few more minutes later and Flint reappeared from the stairs, followed by the assumed Lucas.  
Duster greeted them again, meanwhile not even noticing Ness quickly and silently say something to his friend, who glanced over at him before looking to Lucas.

"That's him! I remember now. We should find out if he remembers me, and if so what he knows about me. He might help me remember more, or at least figure out what we're doing next," Ness had whispered.  
Lucas looked as if he were trying not to look at Tim. Lucas smiled and muttered a hello to Duster when he was greeted.

"These two were looking for you, so I thought I'd help them out," he explained to Lucas.  
"Oh, hello. I'm Lucas," the blond teen said. His eyes looked to Ness as he smiled faintly, then turned to 'Tim.' He couldn't help but stare, knowing he looked so much like his brother, even with his hood up.  
"I know who you are," said Ness, making the blond turn back to him. He smiled then said, "Do you remember me? I stayed in the village for a week or two, and you helped me out when I needed it."  
Lucas blinked in confusion, then said, "I-I'm sorry, I don't remember."

The commander looked to Ness again. "It is still possible that you are malfunctioning, they could be fake memories derived from your true memories," he whispered.  
"I'm not malfunctioning!" Ness hissed quietly, getting annoyed.  
"So you say, but I'm not convinced," he quietly said, still emotionless.

While they spoke almost everyone was staring at them, trying to get bits and pieces of the conversation. Especially Duster and Lucas.

Suddenly Ness noticed this and nudged 'Timothy,' who looked back to the group silently with a deadpan look. Ness, however, put up a smile.  
"W-well, I don't really remember how long ago this was, b-but I do remember that we were talking as we walked up a path. You wanted to show me your mom's favorite place. Do you remember that?" he asked after a moment.

Lucas shook his head. "Sorry," he muttered.

Ness frowned with disappointment. "Oh. Okay…"  
"Wait…"

Ness paused, looking surprised.  
"Are you… Ness?" Lucas questioned, trying hard to remember.  
"Y-yeah! You do remember, then?"  
"A little. I remember you said you came from somewhere far away, and stayed for a while in Tazmily before you just… vanished. No one even knew you were gone for a few days," Lucas recalled.  
"I vanished..?"  
"Yeah, what happened? We all got kind of worried."  
"I… I don't remember. I kind of… lost some memories. You were in one of the few memories I have left, so I thought you might be able to help me remember."  
"Oh… That's odd."

"Are you certain it was him that stayed here?" the commander suddenly asked.

Lucas flinched in surprise before stuttering, "U-um, n-not really, b-but his name was Ness, a-and that is his name…"  
"I see," 'Tim' looked thoughtful.

"I-I'm sorry, wh-who are you?" Lucas asked.  
He paused before answering, "Timothy."  
"O-oh. Okay," Lucas looked away again, trying not to remember his brother.  
The commander hesitated before asking, "Is there something wrong with that name?"

Ness snickered at the question, and Duster looked confused.

"Um, n-no, nothing's wrong with that name, I-I just…" Lucas tried to think of where he was going with that statement, but nothing came to mind. After a short moment he looked away once again and said, "Sorry."  
Tim looked confused, but quickly replaced it with his normal deadpan look. "I do not understand the source of your regret," he said.  
Ness nudged him again, causing him to look over, now even more confused, even if he did a good job of hiding it. "Stop talking like that, it sounds robotic," Ness said. The commander blinked, but then fell silent and didn't say anything more.

Ness looked up at Lucas, who looked confused as well, and said, "Ah, well… We should go back to town, now. It's getting late, and the inn is pretty far away. Thanks for helping." Of course, it wasn't that late. They just had to check on Bella before going back to the inn.

"Uh… Yeah, o-okay… Sure. It's good to know you're okay, Ness," Lucas said, and smiled.

Ness got up and nodded. "You too," he replied.  
The commander got up as well and followed Ness as they made their way to the door.

"You can go ahead, I want to talk with Lucas and Flint some more," Duster said, and the two nodded in reply.

Once they were out the door and the door was shut tight, Duster turned to the only other two left in the room. "I'm not sure if we should trust those two. They appeared just as the shop was stolen from and they always try to keep to themselves. Not only that, but their wearing things from the shop. If you look at it, the stuff their wearing looks brand new, as well," he said.  
"Wh-what? You mean they could be thieves?" Lucas asked, wide-eyed.  
Duster nodded.

"B-but… he…" Lucas trailed away, remembering first his brother and how much he looked like Tim, then Ness and how he seemed so nice when he first came to the town.

"He what?" Duster asked.  
Lucas clamped his mouth shut, then looked away before saying, "N-never mind."  
"Well, alright. Just stay on guard around them, okay?"  
"Sure."

"It's getting late," Flint finally joined the conversation.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I better get going. See you tomorrow," Duster said, getting up off the couch before walking to the door.  
"Bye," Lucas said, and waved.

As he exited the house he could have sworn he heard rushed footsteps. When he really listened, though, all he heard was the sounds of night. He shrugged, then started hurriedly towards the town, trying to catch up with the two who left earlier.

It took him some time with his limp, but he managed to catch the two just as they were walking into town. "Hey!" He called. "Wow, you guys, are quick," he said through heavy breaths as he reached the two.  
"Oh. Hi, Duster. Why so tired?" Ness asked casually.  
"I had to try and catch up to you. Need help getting back to the inn?" he asked.  
"O-oh, no thanks! We know how to get there. No need to worry!" Ness said, albeit a bit nervously.  
"You sure? You could probably get there a lot faster if I showed you," Duster insisted.  
"We no longer need your help, so if you'll excuse us, we will be going," Tim said. However deadpan or monotone he was, his words still seemed very curt. Duster was surprised by the words, but that quickly turned to irritation, which he managed to hide with a smile.  
"A-ah, well, okay. If you insist," he replied.

Ness looked very nervous, but smiled and waved as the commander turned abruptly and started walking away. Before turning to follow Tim, he mouthed a 'sorry.'

Duster waited a few minutes, then followed them.  
Why would he be so rude to a friendly offer to help? He couldn't just have not known he was doing it. There must be another reason, and Duster was going to find out what that reason was.

**-Chapter Four has been completed, thank you for your time-**

Well, this chapter was kind of boring, but oh well. I'll try to make up for it in the next chapter.  
Bella's not in this chapter at all, but she'll have to be in the next one to keep the plot rolling, so get ready! The best part of the plot is coming up, probably not in the next chapter, but the one after that.

Please review! I love all the reviews this is getting, and I hope to get some more. ^.^


	6. The Rescue

**Chapter Five****  
The Rescue**

Okay! Here's chapter five! (Yes, it has a bad title…) This is the start of when some of the many mysteries I've laid out start piecing together. :P  
Also- Yay longest chapter yet!

Thank you time!

First one goes to **Break-my-shell**!  
Aw, thank you! And yes, I absolutely love suspension and mysteries. I try to put a lot of that into my stories. xD

Second thank you goes to **weeeeeeeeeee**!  
Lol, yes… Duster's reaction to Bella.. Heheh… -evil snickering-  
Anyways, yes, that is what UCv2 stands for. Someone might have to explain that to Duster, too. xD

I do not own the Earthbound/Mother series and never will, sadly..

**-Commencing Chapter Five: The Rescue, please wait-**

Duster followed the two, Ness and 'Tim,' far past the inn. At first he thought it was just a simple mistake, but they made their turned with such certainty that he thought otherwise. They weren't heading for any of the shops… Where could they be going?

They headed out of town, and Duster thought about turning back, but then kept going. He would get to the bottom of this if he had to follow them around the world and back.  
They went into the woods in silence, occasionally turning around and looking incase someone followed them, but Duster was careful enough not to get caught.  
Finally, they stopped. They both looked around, as if searching for something. "Bella! Bella, where are you?" Duster could hear Ness calling. Bella? Who was Bella?

Suddenly he heard a roar. _Wait, was that..? No, it couldn't be… It was destroyed when New Pork fell from the sky and into pieces, _Duster thought, but sure enough, when he turned around, he saw it. Well, something a lot like it. He jumped back in fear as the ultimate chimera growled at him, slowly growing closer.

Ness ran up to them. "Wait, Bella! Duster, what are you doing here?" he asked.  
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here, and why is that **thing** listening to you?" Duster yelled, backing up into a tree.  
"This is definitely not going as planned. Duster, was it? Whether you believe it or not, UCv2 is harmless if you know her," the commander said, walking up beside Bella, who did her normal half-meow-half-wheeze noise.  
"Harmless? Bella? UCv2? That's an ultimate chimera! They're not harmless!" Duster shouted. At this point he was more-or-less scared out of his wits, making him panic.  
"Bella is UCv2. Ultimate Chimera version two. She was built less aggressive so as not to turn against those she trusts. That is something the original didn't have," the commander said.  
"What? Built? You mean that chimera lab thing is still going?" Duster looked to the hooded boy. It was at that moment he noticed his left eye glowed red. "What the..?" he muttered in confusion.  
"No. It recently was forced to stop all activities. There is no need to worry."  
"Um, but please, don't tell anyone about Bella, okay? It might really scare some people," Ness said.  
"I wouldn't blame them!" Duster said. He wouldn't trust a UC if it **was** friendly, especially so close to town.  
"P-please..?" Ness asked uncertainly.

Duster turned to him as he was about to say 'no,' again, but he his voice gave out when he noticed that his eyes glowed red, too. "What the hell are you two?" he asked, looking from one to the other.

Ness flinched, his breath catching. "Wh-what do you mean?" he asked, trying to seem casual.

"Your eyes- what are you?" Duster repeated.  
Ness sighed sadly. "I'm sorry, we had to lie. I didn't want people to fear us," he said, looking up. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked.

The commander looked to him and asked, "What are you doing?"  
"We have to tell him. If we don't he'll tell everyone and we'll be kicked out of the village for sure," Ness replied, glancing at him before looking back to Duster. He waited anxiously for his answer.  
Duster had to think about what the possible 'secret' could be before hesitantly nodding with a, "Sure."  
Ness paused before saying, "Alright. I believe you. Promise you won't tell… We're chimeras."  
"Chimeras? That's impossible. Who would make a chimera out of human beings?" Duster paused, then remembered Claus. He was just a boy, but he was turned into a chimera as well.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. I just woke up with very little of my memories. I've been trying to convince 'Tim' here that I'm not malfunctioning by piecing little bits of my memory back together," Ness said. "Here, this should be proof enough," Ness then added, holding his metallic hand out in front of him, pulling the sleeve of his jacket up to his elbow.  
"Th-that's… so wrong.. Who would do such a thing?" Duster stared at the hand in horror.

"I believe that the only time a chimera scientist would 'do such a thing' is when they are in extreme need of it. As in a case of which someone was dying," the commander said.

"I don't believe that. I think you were just filled with lies on top of lies! Lucas said I went missing. I bet those stupid pig-people or whatever they are kidnapped me," Ness said angrily.  
"Pigmasks," he corrected, then went on to say, "I highly doubt your accusation."  
"Whatever. We'll find out whenever I manage to get my memories back," he said.

"I-I'm sorry, but did you say pigmasks? I thought they disbanded when their king 'disappeared,'" Duster questioned.

"They did. They then remade their forces. Any further information is classified and you will be denied of hearing it," the commander said, turning to him sharply.  
"Classified? How is it you know of it, then?" Duster asked suspiciously.

"I am the commander. I am allowed this information."

"Commander!" Duster suddenly burst. That was what the pigmasks called Claus. He instantly looked to his right hand, which was hidden from view by his hoodie. He remembered Claus had a cannon. What if he had one too? Could Claus be alive? Was this him? Duster shook his head off the thoughts as questioned piled up.

"Yes, commander. Do you know of me?" he asked. When he saw Duster look to his hand he instinctively gripping it behind his back.

"I… don't know. I used to know… the old commander," Duster said uncertainly, looking to the boy's hidden face. Why did all commanders have to be so concealed? If he wasn't Duster might have actually been able to tell if Claus was alive or not.  
"Old commander? I know not what you speak of."  
"Eh… nothing."

"Um… Nevertheless, is our secret safe with you?" Ness finally asked.

Duster hesitated a long moment before nodding.  
Ness smiled big. "Thanks! Oh, wow, that really scared me. Thanks a lot for keeping it a secret," he said happily.  
Bella smiled and purred, her devil-like tail flicking in the air.

The commander stared, deadpan, before nodding. "Very good. We will be returning to the inn now, I suggest you go back home and rest, as well. Bella will stay here so as not to cause a disturbance," he said.

Duster didn't know if he trusted a pigmask commander in the town, but he hadn't done anything that he could prove... yet. So he would trust him. "Okay," Duster said. He followed them back to town and showed them to the inn before heading home.

He laid down in his bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Three chimeras… pigmasks… and a commander. What a long night," he mumbled, then closed his eyes.

Ness was thinking similar thoughts as he lied down on the bed at the inn. "Hey, Commander," he said, looking to the ceiling. Said commander glanced over before continuing to remove the cord secured to his arm cannon. "What is it?" he asked.  
"What do we do now? I mean… We asked Lucas if he remembered me… and he did! -but… Where do we go from here?" he asked.  
"If you insist on continuing your search for truth, then we shall do just that. We could try to get him to clarify some of your memories, or we could simply move on to the next. It's your choice, in the end."  
Ness was about to reply when he looked over and saw him removing the cord. "What are you doing?" he asked in the place of his earlier thoughts.

The commander looked up, then to the cord. "I have to remove the power source from the cannon or I could possibly destroy something in my sleep," he explained, once again hiding the cord in the drawer.  
"O-oh, yeah, that would be bad," Ness said with a nervous laugh. He then looked back to the ceiling, having forgotten his earlier question. After a moment he sighed and rolled onto his side, placing his hat on the nightstand before muttering a "good night," to the commander.

He didn't reply, simply lied down and closed his eyes. After a short time he fell asleep.

Black. Just like every other time. The commander ran through the steps like a broken record. The shouts, the trembling, the light… He looked to it once more, questioning if he should even try, knowing it'd just be out of reach again. The sobs always made his mind up for him. He ran towards it once more. Suddenly he noticed something… It had a faint shape to it. Like a human. It was on it's knees, crying. It was getting closer! The commander suddenly ran faster. This wasn't like the times before… He could almost reach it!  
Suddenly it began to fade, slipping out of view. The commander threw his hand out in front of him in a last ditch effort. "No!" he shouted as he did so.

The screams broke out again soon after, and he fell to the quaking ground. He looked up, but the strange light was gone. He turned around and saw a red eye gleam in the distance. A roar broke the silence and he flipped onto his back, trying to get to his feet.  
"Wh-what.. Is…?" he trailed away, not sure how to react. His legs wouldn't move. He reached for his weapon, but he found that it was gone. He looked to his arm cannon, but instead he found a normal hand.  
He stared in shock before looking up at the shadowed form. As it drew closer he saw metallic parts gleam in a nonexistent light. He felt his hand grip something, and looked down to see a knife. Confused and scared, he shouted, "Wh-what's going on? What is this?"  
The reply he got was another roar. He looked up in terror and backed away as the creature grew closer. "N-no… What's happening..?" he questioned again. Suddenly he tripped, falling onto his back. Finally, nothing would work anymore. All he could do was watch in fear as the chimera loomed over him. It roared and went to attack.

At that moment he flung himself upright with a shout, causing Ness to nearly fall out of his bed. "What? What?" he shouted, looking to the commander, who was looking around, sweat on his forehead. "Are… Are you okay?" Ness asked, shocked by how much fear he was showing.  
The commander looked to him, panting. He looked to his right arm. His hand was still replaced by the cannon. He looked around the room. No sign of the intimidating creature from his dream. He sighed. He then lied back down, removing all emotions once more as she answered Ness. "I'm fine."  
Ness didn't look convinced, but he didn't question him. He preferred to be mysterious, and Ness didn't mind. If he truly needed some form of help than he trusted him enough to tell.  
For now, it was still late, and they needed more rest. He shut his eyes and quickly fell back to sleep.

The commander, however, lied with his eyes open, unable to. _It wasn't like before… What was that, and why did it happen now all of a sudden?_ he wondered.

The commander looked out over to the window after lying in bed for hours. There was just a small stream of light flowing through it, showing that it was dawn. Looking to Ness, he saw that the boy was fast asleep, completely and effortlessly blissful. With a sigh the commander got up and put on his boots. He pulled his hood up and walked out the door, quietly closing it. He walked out the door to the inn without being noticed. He looked up to see that the town was silent other than a few shop keepers and early birds. He turned and started to head down the road.  
After not eating but maybe a few snacks yesterday, his stomach was starting to express it's anger toward him. He noticed a kind of fast food shop, but upon further inspection he saw that it didn't open until eight. Just by looking at the sun he knew it wasn't even half past six. He turned and kept walking, continuing to keep emotionless at all times.

As he walked down the street he caught a quick glimpse of blond hair. He paused, but then walked to the corner and looked down it. He saw Lucas flinch, but it was too late to run. He smiled nervously and said, "O-oh, hello! T-Timothy, right? Ah… I was just…" Lucas trailed away. The commander only looked the slightest bit annoyed, but other wise completely deadpan as he waited for Lucas to finish. "Sorry," he finally managed awkwardly, shuffling his feet.  
"Are you scared of me?" Tim asked.

Lucas looked to him in surprise at the question. "Oh, no, no. That's not it. It's just… I saw you without your hood and… Well… You looked a lot like someone I used to know. It just… unnerves me, kind of…" he said, trying to explain without saying too much.

The commander stood silently for a moment before saying, "I see." _He doesn't sound like he saw my right eye, but the way he acts says differently… _he thought to himself.

"U-um, well… I should get going. I have a lot to do," Lucas said, trying to hide from the past at this point.

"Hm. Very well. Ness would like to speak to you again, when you have time," he said, then turned to continue down the street in search of a place that would sell him some food.

"Okay… Um.. See ya?" Lucas said quietly, watching him leave. After a moment he turned to continue down the street in the opposite direction.

After much searching he found a place to buy some food. He also bought an extra set of clothes before returning to the inn. He was greeted by a panicked Ness. "Oh, jeez! Don't do that! You were gone when I woke up and I thought you left me or something!"  
"Would it have changed that much if I had left?" he asked, walking past him. He set the bag of clothes on the floor next to the nightstand and tossed Ness an apple. He blinked at it before smiling. "Oh, thanks," he said, taking a bite out of it hungrily.  
"I bought a loaf of bread as well," he said, motioning to the bag before pulling his hood off before starting to eat.

After their short meal they left the inn, telling the inn keeper that they would return tonight so that she wouldn't give their room to someone else.

They both stopped at the town center.

"Alright, so where to start… Since Duster knows of our situation we should probably ask for his help, but… Where would he be?" Ness wondered, looking around. "I guess we could ask Lucas… we know where he lives," Ness thought out loud.  
"I noticed him this morning when I went to buy supplies. I doubt he will be home since it's only been an hour at the most," the commander said.  
"Alright, well, we can't just sit here and wait for hours until something happens!" Ness said, getting annoyed.  
"No, you are correct. Unfortunately our only choice looks to be either ask around or search the town," the commander replied.  
Ness sighed. "Okay… Let's go," he said in defeat, and started walking.  
The commander didn't follow, but instead looked to see a crowd formulating in front of a bulletin board.

"Hm..? Co- I mean.. Tim, what are you doing?" Ness caught himself from calling his friend 'commander,' and managed to ask his question while trying to still seem casual. before-mentioned friend then looked to him before looking back at the crowd. "I have a strong urge to find out what is so important that everyone must look at," he explained.  
Ness chuckled then said, "I'm pretty sure that 'strong urge' is curiosity, but we'll go with it for now." He walked past him towards the crowd.  
The commander blinked, muttering to himself, "curiosity?" However, after a moment he followed.

As they approached they could catch some small bits of whispered conversations, and when they looked at the board they saw many things, one of which stood out the most. A bright red poster stating at the top, "Return of the pigmasks!"  
Both chimeras seemed like they could care less, but the villagers were gossiping and some panicking. "I don't understand why this is causing such a big disturbance…" 'Tim' muttered.  
"Think about what I said when we first met," Ness said with a serious face. The commander stared at him before looking out the corner of his eyes to the poster, then to his right arm. Was he starting to question his king's words? Perhaps. Ness found it hard to find out what the mysterious teen was thinking.

After a moment he looked back up to Ness. "I still do not believe you, nor will I ever if we do not prove that you are not malfunctioning in some way," he stated, though quietly so others wouldn't hear. Not that they would care, they were too busy worrying, any way.

"Alright, fine. Let's go check on Bella, first, though," he said.  
"Why?" the commander questioned.  
"I don't know, I just have a feeling. Besides, she should be hungry, too, right? We should take her something," Ness replied.  
The commander paused, then nodded. "Alright. Come with me, the store is this way. I have high doubts that Bella would like bread," he said, then turned and started walking.

It didn't take them very long to buy a chunk of cattlesnake and leave town with it, although some people may have given them some odd looks. They were at the crossroads when they heard a faint yell. They quickly looked to where it was coming from. They both kicked off the ground and ran forward when they pointed out the location. It was coming from the forest. Ness' only thought was, _Not again!_

They sped through the forest with little to no sign of who made the yell or why. They ran and ran until suddenly both came to an abrupt halt. Bella was on the ground, her eyes dull, and the bird on her head missing. Ness' mouth fell open. After a moment he managed to ask, "I-is she… dead?"  
The commander was silent, then approached her, pressing the button on her back. Instantly her eyes flashed back to life. She got up with a whimper, and Ness sighed with relief.

"UCv2, what happened here? Can you explain?" the red headed chimera asked. Bella looked up to him before nodding and turning to look up at the cliffs they had come down from when they were heading towards the town, as if trying to tell them something. Ness looked up as well, but saw nothing. "I think she's trying to say she wants us to go back into the mountains," he said, looking to the commander. The commander looked back before up into the mountains. He then looked down at Bella, and she nodded, turning to run down the path.  
The two boys nodded at each other before running after her.

It was sunset, and by this time they were deep into the mountains. The gashes in the cliffs intimidated Ness, but he followed the seemingly fearless commander as he stayed just a few feet away from UCv2. Finally they saw a little round ship with a pink symbol on it. The commander looked surprised, but not much more. Bella growled when she saw two pigmasks, one in white and wearing a cape. Both turned in surprise at the growl.  
The redhead set his hand on her head and looked to the pigmasks. "You two. What is your objective here? Why was UCv2 shut down?" he ordered of them. Ness hung back in fear, trying not to be seen.  
The white pigmask then said, "Hey, who do you think you are, boy? We're pigmasks, so you better not interfere!"  
The commander frowned, lowering his hood before saying, "I am your commander, and you will answer my question."  
Both pigmasks squealed and saluted, but it was the pink one that spoke first after their little 'discovery.' "C-commander! W-we were sent on a special mission to retrieve a boy. UCv2 found him first, but sh-she turned aggressive towards us when we tried to capture him. W-we had to turn her off," it said.  
"And who is this boy?" he asked.  
This time the white one spoke, "We were told not to tell anyone of our mission, but you **are** the commander. The only information we were given was that our target was a teenager, blond, and skilled with PSI."  
"Show me," The commander ordered harshly.  
"B-but sir, our mission-" the pink one didn't have any time to finish his statement.  
"Show me the boy you captured!" he barked, his mechanical eye seemed to get brighter as his anger built up. Ness was take by surprise by just how mad his friend was getting. Why was he so upset all of a sudden?  
Both pigmasks squealed and saluted, running to the sides of the vehicle. "H-h-he's inside, s-sir!" the white one said nervously.

He walked past them and looked around the vehicle. There, lying in one of the seats, was Lucas. He was completely out of it, unconscious for the time being. The commander looked to the pigmasks out side the ship. "What did the king plan on doing with him?" he asked, going deadpan once more.  
"H-he didn't say," he pink one answered.

The commander watched as the boy squirmed in his sleep, as if he were having a nightmare. The redhead knew all too well the terror nightmares could inflict, and couldn't help but feel a soft pain in his chest. He looked to it, as if expecting some kind of wound, but then looked back, confused. _What is this feeling? Pain without a physical form?_ He wondered, uncertain. He lifted his head when he heard the boy stir even more, whimpering, "Claus…"  
The commander flinched. _That was the name of his brother, wasn't it? _He remembered from the tomb stone. When Ness had said it he simply thought of it as a name, but his mind seemed to give it a different meaning when this boy said it… Why? It seemed almost… special, in a way. He turned and looked to the two pigmasks, who had been watching curiously. Both jumped and scrambled to stand up straight. He watched before saying, "This boy cannot leave here. He is apart of something very unsettling that must be either confirmed or proved invalid. If he leaves it may not be solved, and this could leave the king in a troubling position."  
Ness blinked. Had he heard right? Did he mean that, or was he actually lying to his own men?

The white pigmask flinched before saying, "Sir, we had very strict orders. If we go back-"  
"Report back to King P. Tell him what I have told you. If he does not believe than I will return personally with the boy in my possession," the commander interrupted him.  
Both pigmasks paused, looked to each other, then reluctantly agreed. "Okay. Whatever you say.."  
"Good," he said, turning back to the boy.

Ness was dumbfounded at this point. _What is he thinking? _he wondered to himself.

The commander picked Lucas up by his shoulder, carrying him out of the ship. Once he was out the pigmasks got inside and shut the door before taking off.  
Ness approached them and helped the commander carry Lucas by lifting him by the other shoulder.  
They both carried him to Bella and lied him on her back. He stirred a bit, but didn't wake.

By the time he finally managed to get his eyes to crack open 'Timothy' and Ness were trying to carefully remove him from the UCv2's back. His vision was blurred, but when he saw the commander's bright red hair he couldn't help but think it was his dead brother. "C-Claus..?" he asked uncertainly, trying to blink the blurriness away.  
Ness looked to him with a smile, ignoring the delirious mumbling. "Hey, bud! Good to hear ya. How are you doing?" he asked

"H-huh..? Ness..? I'm… feeling… kind of sick," he muttered. He tried to stand, but was thankful the two were by his side to catch him, because he didn't get far.

"Oh, well, hang in there, okay? We're almost to the town. Those pigmasks roughed you up good, huh?" he questioned casually, waving to Bella to let her know that she was staying in the forest again. She sat down and watched them leave. Her head was still bird-less, but no one really noticed.  
"Pigmasks? What.. What happened?" Lucas asked, his vision starting to clear.  
"Oh, I guess you don't remember… Well, that's okay. We're not all that sure, either. We found you and rescued you," he said with a smile, not actually telling the full story. The entire time the commander was silent.

"Th-thanks," Lucas said, a bit embarrassed that he had to be rescued at all.  
"No problem! Oh, hey, there's the town," Ness said, looking up as the town came into sight.  
"Thanks… again. I-I think I can make it from here," he replied.  
"Really? You sure?" Ness asked, slowing to a stop. He frowned with concern.  
"Yeah, I think so…" he repeated.  
"Well.. I guess. Maybe we should just go with you.. Y'know, just in case?"  
"Um… sure, I guess."

Ness' smile returned, and he gently let go of him. The commander mimicked his motions, but said nothing.

Lucas wobbled, but stayed on his feet and stood for a moment to catch his balance. 'Tim' didn't seem to notice his hood was down, but Ness figured that was okay. His mechanical eye wasn't nearly as noticeable as Ness'.  
Lucas seemed nervous, but didn't bother with him.

They made it to Lucas' house and stopped in front of the door. Lucas turned around, a bit confused. "Aren't you going to stay for a little bit?" he asked.  
Ness looked to 'Tim,' who didn't reply, nor even look to his companion. He seemed to be in a daze, quiet and completely zoned out ever since the confrontation with the pigmasks. Ness looked back to Lucas, who had also looked to the commander, though now he looked worried.

"I… I think it'd be best if we just went back to the inn and got some sleep. It's been a long day," he said.  
The blond looked back to Ness and frowned before nodding. "O-okay.. I guess I'll see you around," he replied, taking a step back towards the door uncomfortably.  
"Yeah. Bye."  
"Bye."

After exchanging farewells Ness and 'Tim' went back to the inn, just as planned. Both prepared for bed without saying a word. As the commander lied down on his bed Ness watched from the opposite side of the room before rolling over, muttering a 'goodnight.' Again, there was no reply. He sighed, but closed his eyes.

The commander glanced over, but then ignored him. Thoughts raced through his mind, asking questions he couldn't answer, including 'Why did I do that?' 'What will I do next?' and 'What is this feeling?'  
As the last question was asked his thoughts paused, echoing it over and over. He turned to his side and closed his eyes, trying to block it out, but it only got louder as he did so. It grew distorted before fading to whispers that even he couldn't understand. Opening his eyes thinking that the whispers were real, soon found out that he was asleep. He heard a laugh echo in the darkness, and he turned to see the silhouette. It was the same as always.  
The ground shook and he fell, but before he could hit the ground, colors suddenly burst across his sight, revealing the scene as more than just shadows. He struggled in rapid water currents before feeling someone grab his arm. When he looked it was only another shadow amongst the now lucid dream. He tried to get away from it, but found that he couldn't move. He opened his mouth, but no sound came from it. Suddenly he noticed his right arm was, once again, not the cannon it had once been. Finally finding his strength, he ripped away from the shadowy figure's gasp, only to fall over an invisible ledge.  
His eyes widened with fear, but then he fell emotionless. It was continuing like normal again. He remembered this part. He turned in the air and let himself hit the ground flat on his stomach.

He got up weakly and looked up. Darkness surrounded the speck of light. He was determined. He would reach it this time. Without even waiting to consider the consequences, he started off at a dead run. He ignored the fact that his clothes and right arm had changed, running as fast as he could towards the light. It rapidly approached and he reached towards it. He was going to make it this time!  
The scream echoed in the distance and sobs filled his ears. He gasped, then pushed himself off the ground as the light started to disappear. Finally, he felt his hand grip the light.

It exploded in front of him, and he held his left arm up to shield his eyes. Even then, he had to close them to protect them from the light. When he opened them he could see visions flash before his eyes in rapid succession. Unable to keep up with all of them at once, he tried to reach for one in particular. As he touched it he fell back with a yell. The light blinded him again, and he was shocked by the pain that exploded from it.  
Opening his eyes, he saw a landscape form in front of him. It was the mountains he was in when he found Lucas and the pigmasks, but that's not what caught his attention. It was the silhouette from the last dream, but in full color. Green and metallic. A red eye glared at him. He could feel pain, anger, hate, and fear course through him as he gripped the knife from before. What was this? Why was it happening? Why did he feel this way? He could hear the questions, but they didn't seem to get through to him completely.  
His vision glitched and warped before time seemed to speed up. After a moment it returned to normal, and he looked up just in time to see the creature place a crushing foot down on his right arm. He yelled out again at the pain, flinging the knife down on the foot. It shattered against the metal, and all he could do was endure the pain. Then his vision glitched again before skipping ahead. He staggered in between a crack in the mountains, then fell forward, his vision blurring and darkening as he could see two pinkish blobs approach him. Then, it was dark once more.  
A light flickered before coming into view again. The pain was gone, and the light was now floating in front of him, easily reached. He stared in confusion before looking to the light. He fell back, unsure if it was a good idea to reach out to the light, after all. He could hear whispers, screams, and quiet sobs echo from it, and he scooted away from it. He felt like he wanted to learn more, to help him understand, but he also felt fearful, and scared of what it might hold. Did he even want to understand? He didn't know anymore. He had seen enough for one night. He closed his eyes and tried hard to wake himself up, knowing it was all just a dream.

When he opened his eyes he saw the wall of the inn, and sighed with relief.  
It was over.  
For now.

**-Chapter Five has been completed, thank you for your time-**

Okay! Finally moving along in the plot, huh? Yep. Well, in this chapter we realized just how close the commander is to actually reaching his memories! Not that he understands them yet, but they are there. Next chapter will have bit more Commander and Lucas than anything, but I think everyone will be in it. :)

Well, anyway! Thanks for reading, and please review some more.  
I'm proud to say that I have 10 reviews already! WOO! That's the most reviews I've ever gotten on a story in such a short time! :D


	7. Answers and Bitter Truths

**Chapter Six****  
Answers and Bitter Truths**

Yay, this actually made it to Chapter Six! For a while there I was just… uninspired. Anyway, it's nice to know everyone likes this story so much. I'll try to keep it interesting and original, and I hope you continue to like it.

Note: If you haven't gotten the "tiny" (NOT) clues I gave you in past chapters, then this chapter will really shove the truth in your face, so, as a warning to those who haven't finished Mother 3: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS. That is all. Thanks for following this silly little fan fic all the way to this point, I'm really happy everyone is giving out such a positive response to it!

Thank you time!

**SuckOutYourSoul**  
Aw, thanks! ^_^

**weeeeeeeeeeee**!  
It's okay, I'm happy you review at all!

Hehe, yes, I put Lucas in a state of denial. xD  
And that reaction is something I'm really excited to write about. Or.. More so what comes after it. You'll understand why after this chapter. :P

**Akita Daichu**  
Ah yes, the commander-learning-of-claus thing. Hehe, that's always something to look forward to. Why am I so amused by that comment? I have no clue. xD

The whole Ness thing gets explained much later into the story, so that's something not-so-important-at-the-moment, yet still clued in every once in a while. I love to foreshadow (if it wasn't obvious,) so there are a lot of hints I throw into every chapter that you might not always get until you read the next one. (-or so I've been told.)

**Riku's Music Lover**  
Thanks! I try to update quickly, but I've been slowing down a bit because I'm getting uninspired. I feel like I'll mess the entire thing up if I write while uninspired, so I wait until I feel inspired, then write. Lol, did that make any sense whatsoever? xD

I do not own the Earthbound/Mother series!

**-Commencing Chapter Six: Answers and Bitter Truths, please wait-**

As he gently shut the door to his house with a soft 'click' Lucas let out a sigh. After being escorted to his house he said his goodbyes and went inside. The entire way 'Tim' had kept his hood down, making him feel that soft pang he always got when he thought about his twin. They had said that they rescued him from pigmasks… He stopped to wonder why there would be pigmasks at all, but nothing came to mind. How, and why? He pushed those thoughts away and wandered up the stairs to his room almost unconsciously. His father wasn't home yet, but that was normal. Always left early and came home late. He had told him his thoughts about Tim, but the most he did was get a little more quiet. He always tried and did a good job of masking his emotions. Lucas knew that Claus' death was hard on him, too, even if he hid it, so it was easy to imagine he felt slightly uncomfortable around Tim, as well. Unfortunately for Lucas he wasn't good at masking emotions like his father, so Tim had already ended up asking once or twice about it. He always made his reply a half-answer, hiding most of the facts. That was okay, though, right? He didn't have to know, it would probably just make him feel bad for Lucas, and he didn't want that. He wanted to seem strong.  
That thought, in turn, made him flick back to how he had been captured. He hadn't been strong at all in that situation. He had to be rescued, and who knows what would have happened if Ness and Tim hadn't been there. He shuddered at the thought.

He tried hard to remember any tiny detail of how he had been captured, but the only thing that came to mind were muffled sounds. A squeal, a roar, a yell, then silence. A voice came after the silence, then more silence followed. After that is when he remembered waking up.  
He repeated the noises over and over in his mind, trying to understand them. The first noise, a squeal, was most definitely a pigmask. He'd know the sound anywhere. The second noise, a roar, was more difficult. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He had guessed that the silence was the time in which he had passed out.  
Then there was the voice. His first thought was Claus, and he had tried to call to him at the time, but he was answered by silence. Then the voice continued. He had thought he was dead or dying at that point, but when he woke up he had to rule that out. Was the voice just part of a strange dream he had while passed out? …Maybe.

He sat on his bed and stared out the window for a long time, simply thinking, before he heard the door open and shut. He shoved his thoughts and memories away and headed down the stairs to greet who he knew was most likely his father.  
He was correct.

Lucas smiled and greeted him with a, "Welcome home."  
His reply was a small, short-lived smile and nod. Always the silent type.  
Lucas hesitated, wondering if he should tell Flint about what had happened today, but decided against it. Instead he wandered over to the kitchen and opened the fridge in search of something to make for dinner. He had started making the dinners, as his father's cooking always seemed to be bad in one way or another. It was burnt, undercooked, had too much seasoning, had too little seasoning, you name it; Flint had done it all.

Lucas was definitely better at cooking, but even he couldn't make very good meals if there was nothing to cook with. "Um… Feel like having sandwiches? That's pretty much all I can make with bread, lettuce, a tomato, and some leftover chicken," he said, lifting his head from the fridge.  
Flint made a small shrug and answered, "Sure."  
By the time they both sat at the table each one had a before-mentioned sandwich on small, neat little plates. They ate in silence, but once they had finished Flint decided to start a conversation, which startled Lucas. "So what happened today?" he asked. Lucas flinched. It was more out of nervousness to answer than anything, but the fact that this time his father was the one to start talking first added to the surprise. "O-oh, n-nothing much," he answered.  
"I heard someone mention today that those pig-things are trying to make a comeback," Flint continued.  
"R-really? Oh, th-that could be bad. Um… maybe I should ask around tomorrow to see if anyone knows how or why?" the blond boy suggested, trying to play dumb.  
"It could be dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt."  
"I-I wont, promise. I'm just curious."  
Flint paused, but then nodded, reluctantly agreeing. "Alright, just be careful. …When you do go asking around I want someone to keep you company," he said.  
"O-okay. That sounds fair," Lucas stuttered, then smiled.  
Flint smiled back. "We should get some sleep now. I'll clean up the dishes tonight," he said.  
"Okay, thanks," he said politely, then got out of his seat and headed towards the stairs as his father got up and started picking up the dishes. "Goodnight," he called, and his father mimicked him.

Lucas put his pj's on and did the usual he always did before going to sleep. He then lied down in his bed and closed his eyes as he quietly waited for sleep to come and carry him away.

When he awoke his first thought was to look at the clock next to his bed. His blurred vision forced him to wait and try to blink in order to see it. Once he saw it, his reaction was to groan, stretch, and slowly get to his feet. It was a bit earlier than he would normally get up, but it seemed like as good of a time as any.

He put on his clothes and ate his breakfast, then started out the door. He was caught by his father, who was just now letting the sheep out of the barn for their share of fresh air and light. "Lucas! Already up and heading to town, are we? Well, remember what I said last night, and try not to run into any trouble," he said, slightly waving his hand before going back to tending to the sheep.  
"I will," Lucas said, then headed down the road. Before he got too far away he waved and called, "See you later!"

The walk to town was somewhat long, and rather boring, but he didn't mind. The scenery was nice. He headed straight for the town square, figuring that was a good place to start. Once there he was surprised to notice a familiar redhead staring blankly into the well. Lucas thought about turning around and walking away, but something told him not to. He hesitated before taking a slow step forward, followed by another. It didn't take many steps for Tim to notice him approaching. He blinked, silently questioning why he had approached at all. Lucas made a wavering smile and, while hoping it looked convincing, greeted the boy. "H-hi. Thanks again, for yesterday," he said timidly. The similar boy frowned and looked back to the well. Lucas mimicked the action, then looked back to him. "You… seem down. Is there something bothering you?" he asked.  
Timothy stayed silent, staring blankly into the well.  
"Um… S-sorry…" he mumbled, figuring he didn't want to talk about it. Lucas then looked away nervously.

"Why?"

Lucas jumped, looking up. "H-huh? Wh-what?" he asked, dumbfounded.  
"Why do you feel sorrow towards me?" Tim asked, looking to him with that normal deadpan look of his.  
Lucas couldn't help but flinch at how much the boy looked like his twin, even if he knew it couldn't possibly be. He was starting to wonder if it was possible, and if so, how? Ignoring that for now, he explained, "Why wouldn't I? You seem upset, and asking about it probably wasn't best choice on my part."  
A pause. "You said I reminded you of someone a few days back… and during the 'rescue' you said a name. Could you tell me about him?" Tim asked.  
"O-o-oh, um… who?" Lucas asked, feeling a little nervous about what he might of said while he was out of it during 'the rescue.'  
"Claus."

Lucas winced. "O-oh…" he repeated, shuffling a bit nervously. "H-he… used to be my brother. Twin, to be exact," he started.  
This information was nothing new, so it slightly disappointed the commander, who looked back to the well, frowning again.  
"He died… about two years ago. We all thought he died long before that, even, but he didn't. We just never knew," Lucas said, trailing off.  
This brought his head back up. "What happened the first time?" he asked. He could feel that urge again. Ness said it was… 'curiosity?' Yes, that. He was curious.  
"He disappeared. No one knew where he went but me. He told me… and… maybe if I hadn't of been so scared and weak I could've helped him… maybe even have stopped him, made him change his mind…" Lucas continued, feeling a wave of guilt hit him as he recalled nearly-forgotten memories.  
'Tim' was silent, waiting for him to say more. When he didn't continue he got impatient, and urged Lucas to continue with, "Where did he go?"  
Another pause. "To drago plateau. He had been trying to get revenge on a drago that killed our mom… but… he never came back," Lucas muttered, slowly getting quieter.  
"That is… where I rescued you. …Hm. I… remember seeing marks…" the commander trailed off as two memories started to merge. The one from his dream, and the recent one in which he saved Lucas.

The area… it was the same. The creature… was that a drago? His right hand… the dagger… everything started to become just a bit more clear as he thought hard on what he was being told. The dagger… the hate… revenge… Was he..?  
His thoughts were brought to a screeching halt for fear of what he was discovering. He gripped the side of the well with his left hand in an attempt to stop trembling in the fear he was currently feeling. Of course, he didn't know what this feeling was, only making it worse in the process of trying to figure it out.

Lucas noticed him and suddenly snapped out of his memories. "A-are you o-okay?" he stuttered, taking a step closer.

"N-no… S-something's wrong… I… I have to go back," the commander said to himself, ignoring Lucas. He stood up and started quickly walking towards the entrance to the town. "Th-this isn't right.. I have to go back," he continued to say to himself. His one normal eye was starting get misty as he could feel his mental reaching out to the light, even now as he was outside of the dream. He tried to keep it back, afraid of what might happen, but it was hard, and growing harder by the second. He raced out of the town, unable to hear the confused questions from the blond boy that was now chasing after him.  
He suddenly snapped and spun around when he felt something grip his arm. In pure panic he yanked his arm away and pointing his mechanical arm at whatever had 'assaulted' him. Instantly all thoughts vanished, and the light faded.

Lucas stumbled back, confused, scared, and now tearing up. Only one person he knew had a cannon for a right arm. "C-Cl…" He couldn't bring himself to say the name, and yet he stood right before him. The fact that he held a metallic cylinder at him proved that fact to his mind, and not only that, brought back memories of the last battle he fought with his twin.  
The commander was confused as he looked to the boy. "Who are you?" he asked, deadpan once more.  
"C-Cl… You… b-but… you…" the boy couldn't form any true sentences. He knew who he was, didn't he? He rescued him from pigmasks! But… was that him? Nothing made sense anymore. He questioned his entire life. How could he have been so blind? He couldn't take it anymore. Tears flowed down his cheeks and he sobbed. He couldn't look away from his brother, too shocked and miserable to move in even the slightest way.  
The commander instantly froze. As the sobs reached his ears his subconscious touched the light, and images suddenly burst before him for the second time that day. Everything flooded into his mind. He saw red words flicker across his robotic eye, but he was too distracted to read them. Everything made perfect sense now. Ness had been right, but also wrong at the same time. He would have died had he not been reconstructed as a chimera, but the price… It just wasn't worth it.

He blinked, and, realizing he still had his cannon pointed to his twin, suddenly pulled it back. "L-Lucas.. I'm sorry… I-I'm so sorry!" he suddenly said, dropping to his knees. "Wh-why did it have to be this way?" he asked himself quietly.

Lucas, looking up, was surprised to hear his twin's apologies. "C-C-Claus! Y-you remember," he muttered, causing even more tears to flow. This time, out of happiness. He quickly made his way over and hugged him tightly, sobbing onto his shoulder. "P-please, don't apologize," he said, happy he finally had his brother back.  
Claus paused, dumbfounded, but after a moment, smiled, and hugged back. He couldn't help but mutter another, "I'm sorry."

Both crying, on their knees, and hugging each other tightly, didn't even try to think of just where exactly they were, and if anyone was watching. They didn't care.

Then, finally letting each other go, Claus got up, and then offered a hand to help his twin up. "Thank you," he said.  
Lucas, taking the offered help, then asked, "For what?"  
"Helping me remember," he said, smiling.  
"O-oh," Lucas muttered, then smiled as soon as he saw the smile on his brother's face. "You're welcome."

It was then that Claus finally took the time to read the red flashing words running across his mental screen. 'Hidden memory log has been retrieved. Restricted knowledge. Attempting to delete files, please wait…' His eyes widened as he suddenly gasped and stumbled back. "NO! No, no, no, no! Stop it!" he shouted, making Lucas jump and ask, "What? What's wrong? Stop what?"  
He held his head and tried hard to get a grip on his memories, which had now started to slowly slip away again. "No, no, no, no, no!" he shouted repeatedly, trying painfully hard to grip them. He suddenly gasped as he felt Lucas grab him by the shoulders. "Claus, tell me what's wrong!" he said, looking concerned.  
"I-I.. don't want to forget. Please… help me!" he replied.  
"You don't… want to forget? I-I'm sorry, I don't understand," Lucas said, confused and shocked.

Claus let his head droop, feeling there was no way to save his memories now. "Please…" he mumbled. The scale going across his mind made him feel sick to the stomach as it failed to hear his pleas. Suddenly, it halted. It was barely seconds away from completion. The scale said in the center '88%' but just below it he read as it appeared 'deletion canceled.' His breath caught. It.. worked? Did he really stop it? More words then appeared below that, 'Unable to retrieve lost files.' He frowned. Not everything was saved. Then, he relaxed. "S-sorry…" he quietly said, noticing that he had nearly scared Lucas half to death from the looks of it.  
Lucas was utterly confused, now. "C-Claus? A-are you okay? What was that all about?" he asked as he let his twin go.  
Claus looked away, but managed to mumble, "N-nothing… Just… malfunctioning."  
"Mal… functioning?" Lucas questioned  
"Sorry… the… 'chimera' part of me.. It… made a mistake," he tried to explain, though he wasn't quite sure how to.  
"Oh… Does.. that happen often?" Lucas asked.  
"No… Only sometimes. I-I… don't think it will happen again. Not anytime soon, at least," he lied. He didn't know when his mechanical being would try to delete the memories again, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out, either.  
"Well, that's good… right?" Lucas pushed on with his questions.  
"…Yeah," was his twin's short, quiet reply.

Silence.

Lucas tried to lift the awkward and somewhat painful atmosphere with a smile as he said, "D-don't look down, y-you're alive! Everyone was so sad, we thought you had died."  
Claus's head drooped once more. _Maybe it would have been better if I had…_ he thought.  
Lucas frowned at the reaction. "Aren't you glad to be alive?" he questioned quietly, fearing the answer.  
Claus shook his head, but answered with a quiet, "Yeah," hoping it would be enough to satisfy his twin.  
It was. "Do you… want to go back to town? I-I'm sure everyone will be happy you're back! Oh, and Dad! He'll be so excited!" he said, setting a hand on his brother's shoulder.  
Said brother looked up to the smiling face and couldn't help but mimic the expression. Unfortunately his didn't last nearly as long. "O-okay… I guess owe Ness an apology, too," he muttered, looking back to the ground.  
"Ness? Why?" Lucas asked, confused.  
"He… He's a chimera, too… but he remembers most of his past. I… I was so taken by false information that I thought he was malfunctioning. I know the truth now, and… I really am sorry for everything…" he muttered sorrowfully.  
Lucas was stunned to hear that Ness was a chimera, too, but managed to stay polite and say, "Don't be sorry, nothing's your fault. If anything most of this is **my** fault."  
That, unfortunately, didn't help Claus one bit. "I don't see how that is true in the slightest," he grumbled.  
"Like I said before, if I had been stronger, maybe a bit less scared, then I could have stopped you, changed your mind, and then you never would have been turned into a chimera in the first place."  
"I don't think you would have changed my mind. I was beyond the choice of 'should I, or should I not' when I left you behind to go to the plateau by myself."  
Lucas looked to the ground, cheeks still tear-stained from the shock of finding out his brother was still alive. "But… maybe… just maybe, things would have turned out better," he whispered to himself.  
Claus heard him, regardless of how quiet he made it sound, but decided not to respond. "In any case, it's too late now, so let's just go back to town… I… have a lot to do," _b__efore it's too late,_ he then added mentally to himself. After a short moment he took a deep breath and sighed. "Here I go…" he mumbled, then took the first step.

Lucas smiled as his weak, but noticeable determination. It was nice to finally have his twin back after all the trouble that played out.

Of course, something always ruined happy moments like this. One would have thought it would be that he almost lost his memories right after he had gotten them, and still might in the future, but in this case, it was something to do with the younger of the twins. It made him feel sad and guilty, despite the fact that it had nothing to do with him. Even when he was mentally questioning if Tim could be his long-lost twin, he had forgotten just what had happened to him. But.. How could he have forgotten?  
You see, Claus was now a chimera, and even if he did come back, would still be one. He was scarred forever, and it wasn't even his own fault. That thought made Lucas subconsciously look to the cannon he had for a right hand.  
Noticing this, Claus pulled his sleeve down over it and looked away with an upset frown.  
Lucas winced, becoming aware of what he had done. "Sorry," he said, looking to his feet as he followed his twin back to town.  
"It's not your fault," was the quiet reply.  
"Yeah, but I could have been more sensitive to your feelings, at least…" he mumbled, mostly to himself again.

"You could have."

Lucas looked up in surprise at the curt response, but then noticed that he was smiling. Even though it was likely he was just picking on him, Lucas still felt bad, and so looked away in shame. This quickly made the older twin's smile vanish.  
The rest of the walk was silent. They were just about to enter town when Claus saw Ness rushing towards them.  
When he reached them he stopped and started to say, "Commander," but noticed Lucas before he could even say "Co." Instead he then said, "Oh, hello, Lucas." He then paused before trying again, this time with his friend's 'temporary name.' "Um.. Tim, where were you? There are-" he was cut off by 'Tim.'  
"I-I'm sorry, Ness."

Ness did a double-take. "What?" he asked, utterly confused.

"I remember.. And I'm sorry for doubting you. The pigmasks are bad news."  
Ness stood, dumbfounded. "You… remember? What?" was all he could manage to say.  
"I-I'll tell you the full story later, okay? Just… You see, I'm Lucas' twin. The one everyone thought was dead. I couldn't remember, but… everything's changing so fast.. I don't know how to explain it… I just remember," the commander tried to explain, although he was doing a bad job of it.  
"That's… Uh… Good? If you- Wait, wait, wait! No, We don't have time for that. The pigmasks, they came to the town! They said they have orders to take both you and Lucas back to the main headquarters, and if you don't go they'll start hurting the villagers!" Ness said.  
"What?" both boys said in unison.

"Remember what you said? I don't think the 'king' liked your response," Ness whispered to Claus.  
"Wait, what? What did you say? King?" Lucas asked, overhearing.  
Ness winced. "Ah.. N-nothing, it's just-" he was cut off with a loud shout.

"They've got to be here somewhere, so if you want to make up for your mistakes you'll start looking!" a voice said.

Ness jerked his head around to see a white pigmask in a cape similar to the one they ran into at the drago plateau, but definitely not the same one, yelling at the two from before. Apparently one got a demotion, as he was in a normal pink pigmask suit.  
Claus let out a quiet growl as he bared his teeth angrily. With most of his memories now intact he bore a new anger towards the pigmasks. They're the ones who did this to him- made him a chimera for their own enjoyment. He started towards them angrily, swiftly dodging a hand from Ness as he tried to stop him.  
"You three! What are you doing here?" he shouted, his left hand curled into a fist.

The two from before squealed quietly in fear, but one managed to say, "C-commander! W-we have orders to take you back to HQ!"  
"The king is very upset, and requests your immediate return," the white one said, not showing any fear towards the commander, despite the fact that he looked severely mad at them.  
Of course, that only made him more upset. "Forget it," he said sharply.  
Both flinched. "S-sir?" one questioned.  
"I'm not returning, and I will not allow you to take Lucas," he said.  
"Sir, I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter, we were told not to come back without either of you, and were told to use force if necessary," the white one said, taking a step forward.  
He clenched his teeth and snarled. "You..." he cut himself off, as he knew what followed wasn't going to be nice. "Then you leave me no choice," he growled.

Lucas and Ness watched in shock as the commander gripped his sword, bringing it forward and allowing it to flash to life. "I-I guess those were some pretty bad memories," Ness said, eyes wide.

The two pigmasks behind the white one both squealed in fear, clearly trying not to run away and simply leave the white one behind.  
"S-Sir, sorry to say, but you might be malfunctioning. P-please, just come willingly," one of the pink ones said.  
"No, I won't forget! Not again! Not ever!" he yelled, pointing his sword to the sky. Unfortunately this made Lucas go slightly lightheaded as his memories took over.

"N-no! Claus, don't to it!" he shouted, causing said boy to stumble as he stopped in the middle of his attack. He looked back to Lucas. Confusion, anger, and fear swirled in his mind, each fighting for control of his emotions. Lucas looked ready to cry again, and suddenly Claus realized why he was so upset.  
He paused, then looked to the pigmasks calmly. "I'll give you one chance. Leave," he ordered, letting himself return to his emotionless state.

"We can't do that," the white one replied, though even he looked scared when the commander was poised to attack them.

The commander's eyes narrowed, but he managed to keep his anger in line this time. His cannon slowly started to glow. "Then I repeat: I'm not returning, and I will not allow you to take Lucas. I will have you know that I am not malfunctioning, and I will gladly allow you to leave and tell that brat-of-a-king that if you wish it. If not I will have to force you to leave. I'll tell you now that if that happens I will not go easy on you and I will not pity you if you refuse to leave," he said monotonously.

The two from before were trembling, but hadn't moved. They both looked to the white one, as if pleading for him to take the opportunity to leave without getting injured, or worse.  
Both Ness and Lucas were now feeling bad for the pigmasks, despite what they might have done before. Both could understand his anger, especially Ness, but even he knew violence wouldn't solve anything. Knowing this, he was tempted to try and calm his friend and reason with the threat at hand. In the end he decided to see how the commander, or 'Claus,' would deal with this situation, and only intervene if things got out of hand.  
After what seemed like forever the white pigmask finally replied, only to repeat himself from before. "We can't do that," he said.  
The commander couldn't hold back a glare as he lifted his sword again. "Very well," he retorted.  
"Wh-wh-what?" one of the pink ones exclaimed. Then he realized something. The white one pulled what looked like a remote to something from his pocket, pressing a red button in the corner of it. "We were told only to use this in emergencies… I think now could be considered an 'emergency,'" he said.

The commander paused, confused. Then quickly looked to the corner of his vision as red words appeared in front of him. 'Emergency shut down has been activated. Now cutting off all power,' it said. He barely had enough time for his eyes to widen in shock before he started to feel weak. Soon he found himself falling to the ground, shadows now limiting his vision. Just before the darkness completely swallowed him he was able to hear someone call his name, followed by the pounding of rushed feet quickly approaching. Then the silence swept over him, burying him in the emptiness he knew would follow after he had read those words.

**-Chapter Six has been completed, thank you for your time-**

Um… Yeah, I'll cut it there for now. xD  
I had originally planned to keep writing, but changed my mind.

Just a note: I might get even more slow from here on out because I'm packing up and moving. I won't be packing my laptop, so I'll still write, but it's likely that nothing will get posted until I'm there and settled down again. I'll try to post before then, though.

Also- Review! Yes, yes! I love them! ~3


	8. The Journey Begins

**Chapter Seven****  
The Journey Begins**

Wow, I still can't believe how far this fan fic's come.  
Like I said before, I'm packing and moving so chapters are slow. Besides that I really do like writing this, it's very fun, and I hope to continue with it until the very end.

Anyways, thank you time!

**Riku's Music Lover**  
I know, right? D:

Lol, anyways, yeah. Packing's a pain, moving is slightly less so, and unpacking's even worse. I've done it ten billion times now, so I can do it quickly, but still… Such a pain! _

**PKLOVEOMEGA**  
Yay! Glad to see someone new who likes this so much! Thanks for reviewing, I promise to try hard and update quickly. ^.^  
-once I get to my new house. xD

Disclaimer: I do not own the Earthbound/Mother series or anything having to do with it.

**-Commencing Chapter Seven: The Journey Begins, please wait-**

"Claus!" Lucas called out, darting forward with speed he didn't think possible as he watched his red-haired brother tumble to the ground like a sack of potatoes.  
Ness was bolted to the ground… or so it felt that way. His racing mind couldn't focus long enough to actually give him a command, not even one as simple as 'go make sure he's okay.' Even his robotic half seemed to be unable to register a simple request to run forward.  
Meanwhile Lucas had reached his brother's side. He leaned him up with one arm and gripped his shoulder with the other. "Claus! Claus! Don't die again, Claus! Wake up!" he said, tears rolling down his face.

"Well? Don't just stand there, go get them!" the white pigmask, still gripping the remote, then ordered the other two. He was pointing to the twins for emphasis on his command.  
The pink ones were shocked at how easy that had been, almost to the point where they didn't believe it. As soon as they were ordered, though, they saluted with squeals and rushed forward toward the twins.

Ness, suddenly finding enough strength in his legs to move, darted forward to stand in between the pigmasks and the brothers. "Don't you dare come anywhere near them! Who are you to take Lucas' brother away like that? Do you know how much pain they've both gone through because of you?" he shouted angrily. Of course, even he couldn't fathom the pain they must have gone through, but he could definitely imagine.

Both pigmasks skidded to a halt, flinching back at the words. "W-we didn't have a choice, he was going to fight back!" one said.  
Ness snarled. "You're not looking at the entire thing! How would you like it if your memories were wiped clean so that you don't even remember your own twin?" he barked. He felt like he would have cried if his mechanical eyes would- or even could -have let him. His heart felt heavy in his chest and he could feel his hands tighten into fists out of anger.

"W-we didn't do that, it was the king! He was forcing some kind of doctor to do it!" one of the pigmasks defended, gaining a hard hit to the head. "Don't tell them that!" the other one scolded.  
"Your king… Your king is sick and twisted! Who is your king? Who is he that he would do such a thing so willingly to such innocent kids?" Ness shouted, glaring furiously at them, now.  
"W-we don't know his real name, we just call him King P!" the pigmasks said, scared at this point.

"You idiots, stop talking and get going! We need to get back to main base!" the white one barked.

The pink ones squealed, saluted, then looked back to Ness, hesitantly starting towards him.  
Ness growled. Suddenly he felt something inside him. It felt almost instinctive as he brought his hand up. Unknowing of just what he was doing exactly, he shouted, "PK Rockin'!" Then, out of nowhere, a bright light erupted from his hand and filled the area. All that was heard were squeals mixed with painful yells.  
When the light faded the pigmasks were on the ground and struggling to get up.

"H-he can use PSI! I-is that the other boy K-King P's been looking f-for?" one asked.  
"I-i-it m-must be!" another one replied.  
When they looked up they realized something.

Lucas, who had to shield his eyes from the blinding light, looked up to see the exact same thing the pigmasks did: Ness was on his knees. The cord attached to his hand was sizzling, and he looked to be in pain.

"He must've damaged his mechanical half with that PSI attack. He's weakened, we should be safe to approach, now… Well? Get going!" the white pigmask ordered, pointing forward, past the other two pigmasks.  
"O-o-oh! R-right!" one said, saluting.

When he turned around it seemed to be a different story, however. He hesitated a long moment before the other one nudged him to get him moving.

"Ness! A-are you okay?" Lucas called, worried that his friend might end up like his brother.  
"I-I'm fine… But you gotta get out of here!" he said, turning his head to look at them out of the corner of his eye. He winced at a slight, unexpected pain as he did so.  
"B-but what about you?" Lucas asked, gripping his limp brother's arm as he prepared to try and lift him up.  
"I'll be fine, it's you two they're after!"  
"B-but you-"  
"Lucas!" a voice interrupted him.

Lucas turned to see a familiar brown-haired man. "D-Duster? What are you doing here?" the blond boy questioned.  
"I saw a bright light in the distance and came to find out what it was. Are you okay? Why are-" he cut himself off when he saw the commander. He then looked to see Ness, clearly injured, although he couldn't see how. "What happened?" he finally managed to ask.

"There's no time for that, get Lucas and Commander out of here!" Ness shouted, getting slightly irritated.  
Duster was about to question why, but then he saw the pigmasks rushing towards them and made a quick decision to help Lucas lift the red-head and do what Ness ordered and make a hasty escape from the area.

Unknowing of where exactly was the best place to go, they left town and ended up in Sunshine Forest. They gently set Claus down, who was still as limp and unmoving as ever.  
Lucas, unsure of what was wrong, was starting to tear up. "I-it happened again…" he muttered.  
Duster looked to the boy, just as confused as he was in the town. "What happened again?" he asked.  
"H-he… H-h-he's dying… isn't he? J-just after… he remembered," Lucas barely managed out, choking on sobs at this point as he tried to keep them back.  
"Remembered what?" Duster was only becoming more confused.  
"C-Claus… H-h-he's C-Claus," Lucas said, unable to hold back his tears any longer.

Duster fell silent, his mouth agape. He had been suspicious of that long before he found out, but to hear it in this way, as this was all happening… He felt his chest tighten with sadness and a knot formed in his throat. What could he do? What could he say? It seemed impossible to decide. All he managed after a long quiet moment was a pathetic, "I'm sorry."  
Lucas barely even heard it. He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get a single word out he heard a roar ring out. He flinched. That was the roar in his memories, when he had been kidnapped. Both turned to see a familiar turquoise chimera approach. An Ultimate Chimera. It snarled and growled angrily at them, a glare shaped it's eyes.

Lucas gasped and flipped onto his back, stumbling away in fear. He had hoped never to see that shape ever again.  
Duster's breath sped up, but he tried to remain calm. "Bella? I-it's okay… we're not the one who did this. Um… The pigmasks did," he said, feeling a bit awkward as he tried to speak to something he thought would never listen to anything.  
Bella paused, her snarl fading. Her face twisted into an almost sad expression, and she approached. With her odd little wheezing-meow, she nuzzled the red-head.

Lucas, still scared, and now terribly confused, looked to Duster, hoping for an explanation.  
"She.. Uhm… She's a newer Ultimate Chimera. She… apparently has feelings. I think they were attempting to make one that wouldn't attack them… you know, the pigmasks," he said, trying to explain the best he could off of what he already knew.

Lucas, understanding just a bit more, looked to Bella and frowned sadly. "I think she really liked Claus… If she really does have emotions then she must feel very sad right now," he quietly said. He then added, "B-but that's okay… I know that feeling." He reached out to her with a trembling hand, hoping to comfort her.  
She seemed like she was going to allow him to pet her for a moment, but then, suddenly, Bella sat up. Her ears pointed as she stared off and snarled at seemingly nothing.  
Lucas pulled his hand back in fear and surprise, then asked, "Wh-what's wrong?"  
"Wait… I think I hear something," Duster said, trying to see or hear whatever Bella must have heard long before him.

Slowly, it became clear.  
A tune. An unpleasantly familiar tune.  
Lucas shuddered when he heard it, memories filling his mind. Bad memories he had hoped never to remember again ever since he had returned home. After it had all happened, after it was all said and done, he had tried to lock those memories away, but now, now they all came flooding back.

"It sounds like one of their flying things. If we're quiet and stay still they might not see us," Duster said, suddenly stopping all motion.  
Bella drew herself close to the ground and cooed before falling silent and doing the same.  
Lucas held his breath as the tune got louder. Through the shadows of the trees overhead he saw the shadow of the circular flying object. He watched carefully for it, catching glimpses of where it was through the shadows. Eventually it was out of sight, and the music faded into the distance. Once he was sure it was gone he sighed with relief.

"It sounds like they're gone. I guess we could try to head back now… but it could still be dangerous," Duster said.  
"I d-don't think we have a choice, do we? W-we have to go back," the blond replied, getting to his feet.  
"Yeah, you have a point.."

Bella cooed sadly and looked at them. She obviously didn't want them to leave. Or, more so she didn't want to leave the commander's side.  
"I-I'm sorry, but Claus needs help, and I think it'd cause a lot of panic in the town if you came along," Lucas said, frowning at the ultimate chimera.  
Bella made that odd noise of her's and turned away. She took a few steps, then turned back to them and sat down, showing that she would stay in the forest.  
Duster was a bit surprised at first, but then smiled. "I think she understands. Come on, let's see if we can't get back into town," he said, looking to Lucas. The blond then nodded in return, and they lifted his brother's limp body up for the second time before heading back towards Tazmily Village.

When they got there they took caution and looked around before carefully making their way into the town square. "We should take him to Tessie at the Inn," Duster whispered, and Lucas nodded his approval. They started to head in that direction, and the entire time Claus never stirred or even made a sound.

"Welcome to the- Oh my!" the girl at the counter cut herself off as soon as she saw the three.  
"Tessie! S-something happened, I think he's hurt. Can you help him?" Lucas asked, trying to motion towards the red-head while still keeping him from falling to the ground.  
"I-I'll try. Come, this way!" she said, ushering them into one of the rooms down the hall.

Once into the room Duster and Lucas, with some difficulty, laid Claus down onto the bed.

"How did this happen?" she asked, feeling for any kind of fever.  
Not necessarily knowing himself, Duster looked to Lucas, who, with downcast eyes, said, "It happened this morning… Some pigmasks came into town, wanting to take us both back to 'HQ.'" He paused, remembering the trade of words and how furious Claus had acted. Tessie had paused to look to Lucas as he spoke. "C-Claus… he said he wouldn't allow it… that he would fight them if it came to it. Then… one of them pulled something from his pocket. It was square and had a few buttons on it. The pigmasks pushed one of those buttons and Claus… He just… fell. Right in front of me… almost as if…" Lucas trailed away. He never looked up as he spoke, or else he would have seen the shocked look on the girl's face. Tessie wasn't necessarily shocked so much about the part where Claus fell as the part where he was 'Claus' in the first place. She almost looked scared to touch the boy. Her hand hovered over where she had placed it on his forehead to see if he was sick.

"I… I-I see," she managed to say, pulling her hand back to hold it to her chest. After a short moment she managed to bring herself back to the task at hand and check the boy for any wounds.

When she was done she sighed and looked to the others in the room, who had been anxiously waiting for her report. "Well, I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. He looks fine other than the fact that he appears to have been missing quite a bit of sleep. The most we can do is sit, wait, and hope that he wakes up," she said, looking very depressed compared to her normal cheery self.  
Lucas started to tear up again at that. '_And hope that he wakes up,_' those words echoed in his mind. '_Hope,_' that means that there's a good chance he won't wake up at all.  
Duster wanted to say something to the blond, but when he tried nothing very 'comforting' came to mind. So, instead, he turned to Tessie and asked, "Say, did you see Ness today?"  
"Ness? Um… He left this morning, but not at all after that. …Why? Is something wrong?" she asked, confused.  
Lucas gasped and looked up. "Oh! O-oh no! H-he could be in danger!" he said, jumping up from where he had taken a seat on the opposite side of the bed from the door.  
"What? Now, now, calm down. What's wrong? Why would Ness be in danger?" Tessie asked soothingly.  
"A-after Claus fell Ness tried to protect us, but he did something that hurt him, too, and told me and Duster to 'get out of there.' We did, but that left him all alone. I wouldn't doubt it if those pigmasks took him instead of us," Lucas said, looking downcast once more. He hesitated before muttering, "He sacrificed himself just so we could escape…"  
"O-oh dear… This all sounds so horrible! Oooh… No, no, we mustn't get distraught. There's always a way!" Tessie said encouragingly, trying her hardest not to get sucked into the depressing thoughts that clouded everyone's thoughts at this point.

Duster smiled and nodded. "She's right, we can't give up. Lucas, do you know anything that might help us to find out where this 'HQ' might be?" he asked, looking to said boy.  
Lucas looked up, first to Tessie, then to Duster before sitting back down on the chair and looking to his feet, this time in thought. "Umm… Maybe," he said, looking back up.  
"Great! Where do you think it is?" Duster asked.  
"Well… do you remember that floating city?"  
"Uh.. The one that fell? Yeah, I remember that. Why?"  
"Do you think… that maybe… they rebuilt it?"  
"Rebuilt it?" Duster questioned, looking thoughtful. "I guess that's… possible," he said.  
"But why would they rebuild it? -and why would they regroup? I thought you said that their king was gone for good," Tessie said.  
"He is. There's no way he could make a comeback," Duster said.  
"I don't know… it's all so confusing," Lucas muttered.

"Well, you said that they could have rebuilt the city, right? There's only one way to find out," Duster said, looking to Lucas with a smile.  
Lucas didn't return the look, instead he looked to his twin for a moment before sighing. Then, getting back up, he said a quiet, "Yeah."

"Are you going on another adventure, then? Well, remember to prepare, and come back before you leave, okay?" Tessie asked.  
Lucas nodded, and Duster said, "Alright, we will."

Then, leaving the inn, Lucas and Duster split up to go to their homes and pack up for the journey ahead.

Lucas walked up to his house with a frown on his face. It was afternoon. He could tell just by looking at the shadows. But even so, his father wouldn't be home yet.  
He knew he would have to tell him what was going on, and why, and he wasn't looking forward to it. He walked into the house and up the stairs. He got out a backpack from the corner of his room and set it on the bed. He then started packing it with clothes and other things he considered 'necessities.'  
When he was done he picked up the pack and carried it down the stairs carefully. He set it down by the door and walked into the kitchen, picking up an apple. He would visit the store before he left, but for now, he washed the apple off and took a bite out of it. As he threw the core away he heard the door open and close. He cautiously peeked towards it, then relaxed when he saw it was Flint.

"O-oh. Dad. Um… There's… something I need to tell you," he started, walking towards him.  
"Lucas? Why is there a bag by the door?" Flint asked, looking slightly worried, but more than that, upset.  
"Well, you see… Um… Do… you remember what I said about Tim?"  
He hesitated, but nodded after a short moment.  
"Well… this morning… he was acting a bit strange. I followed him and before I knew it he was pointing a cannon at me… a cannon where a right arm should have been," Lucas paused, looking for some kind of reaction.  
What he got was a look of shock, but not a single word came from his mouth. So, Lucas continued, "He remembered me, though, and for a moment everything was fine. Better than fine, really. -but then… we went back to town… and saw a group of pigmasks," purposefully leaving out the part where Claus started to act strangely and literally panic, only to say that he was 'malfunctioning.'  
Again he looked for a reaction. The look of shock had faded, and now all he received was a blank stare. Feeling just a bit concerned, he continued once again, "The pigmask did something- I'm not sure what -that made him collapse. Claus, I mean. -and… then Ness tried to protect us… something happened… then me and Duster escaped with Claus, leaving him behind… a-and now… e-everything's wrong… C-Claus won't wake up… a-and Ness is gone…" Lucas trailed off, feeling short of breath as his heart started to feel heavy due to all the memories he was recalling.

"Where is he?"  
The blond looked up, confused. "Who…?"  
"Claus. Where is he now?" Flint asked, sounding emotionally dead.  
"Tessie's looking after him at the inn."

Before Lucas could say anymore his father turned around and headed for the door. He didn't need to ask where he was going, it was obvious. He didn't mind, though. He would go there before he left, just like he said he would, and then he would be able to say his goodbyes.

As Lucas left the house he was stopped by a whine from nearby. Looking to it, he noticed the brown dog he had known for so long, sitting and staring at him with a pathetic look on his face. "No, Boney, you can't come this time," he said, petting him on the head. Boney snorted, feeling upset that he would be left behind this time. "That last journey beat you up good, I don't want you to get hurt," Lucas replied, being able to understand him. Boney whined wordlessly, knowing that the boy had a good point. The dog then turned away and curled up in his doghouse, showing that he would stay.  
Lucas smiled and nodded at him. "Good boy," he said, then turned and started back towards the town.

Lucas met up with Duster in the lower part of town, then visited the stores before, finally, they ended up in front of the inn once more. So far the pigmasks hadn't returned, and neither had Ness. They walked through the doors into the building, where they were promptly greeted by Tessie. "Oh, hello, Lucas, Duster," she said, a small melancholy smile on her face. "Flint's in the room with Claus, if you want to say goodbye to him before you head off," she added soon after.  
Lucas nodded, mimicking the weak smile as he headed down the hall, followed by Duster, with Tessie just ahead of them, showing the way.

They walked into the small room. Flint was sitting where Lucas had been before. Tessie and Duster positioned themselves in the corner of the room as Lucas rounded the bed where Claus still lay to sit next to his father.

They sat there in silence for a moment before Lucas finally spoke up. "Dad, me and Duster are going to find Ness," he said.  
Nothing. No reaction, no emotion, nothing.  
"H-he saved us… I can't just leave him to the pigmasks…" Lucas continued, hoping to get something from him.  
He shuffled a bit, then let out a short sigh. "Alright… I understand. This is just another thing only you can do. I just have to accept that. …Maybe, while you're out there, you'll be able to find a cure for your brother…" he said, never taking his eyes off of the limp figure lying on the bed.  
Lucas smiled, then nodded. "Yeah. I'll try," he said, happy that he finally got his father to speak.  
"Thank you," he replied, looking to the younger of his sons.  
Lucas nodded again in response.

"Are you all set, then?" Tessie asked as they stood by the door.  
"Yeah, that's it. We're ready for whatever comes our way," Duster replied.  
She smiled and nodded, though she looked sad to see them go. "Alright, take care," she said.  
"You too," Lucas replied.  
"Don't worry, we'll be back," Duster said with a smile.  
"I know," was her reply.

They opened the door and headed out. Lucas paused, holding the door open as he said, "Goodbye." He then closed the door and turned to the road that led to the crossroads. He sighed at the thought of what might happen on this new 'adventure,' but then shook his head to clear the thoughts and said, "Okay, let's go."  
Duster nodded, and, seeing his friend's silent approval, Lucas took the first step.  
Duster followed shortly after.

Lucas stopped at the edge of the forest to look back. "Goodbye," he muttered again, this time to everyone he knew, and not just Tessie. Then, turning back to the forest, he hurried after Duster, who had passed him up as he said his last farewell.

**-Chapter Seven has been completed, thank you for your time-**

I'll stop there because I want to change perspectives again. Don't worry, the next chapter should be coming pretty quick, considering I'm already working on it.  
I'm having so much fun right now, writing this, when I should be packing. Oh well, hope you all enjoy the new chapter. xD

Also- I missed you, Akita Diachu and Weeeeeeeeeee!  
I love everyone who reviews all the chapters and not just one. Of course, even if you only have time for one, they are all appreciated. Thank you so much, everyone! ^_^


	9. Caught in the Act

**Chapter Eight****  
****Caught in the Act**

Chapter eight! YES! Sorry for the super long wait, guys. Since school started I've had little time to no time for myself. Plus I've been working on a book I've wanted to finish for quite a long time, now.

And, just a reminder, I never actually played earthbound/mother 2, so I might need help with Dr. Andonuts' personality or the younger Pokey's personality, or other characters I might bring in from Earthbound. After all, the most I've heard/seen of them was their little appearances in mother 3, if any.

Another thing- I kinda ran out of inspiration for this, so that's another reason why this one came so slow… It might also be a little confusing or boring in some places. If so, tell me, because most likely I either didn't know how to continue it, or ran out of inspiration and just tried to speed through it. It's things like that I want to fix if I can.  
Since this went unedited or continued for so long, I might have changed their personalities a bit towards the end. I tried to stay as close to the original as possible, but it was hard to readjust myself, and I don't think I fully did. So.. Hopefully it's good enough for all of you. Thanks so much for sticking with me!

Thank you's can be found below! (Sorry if I left someone out, I lost track. D:)

**PKLOVEOMEGA**  
Hehe, thank you. :)

**Riku's Music Lover**  
Well, I can't give away too much information, or else it'd be spoilers.  
I will say that I plan to have a full group by the time they reach Ness, though. I'm looking forward to writing chapter nine, that's for sure! :)

**Weeeeeeeeeee**  
Yay, you're back! Thank yoooou!~  
Anyways, yeah, there hasn't been much action up until now, has there? Oh well, I'll try to work on that, heheh. xP

Also- Oh good! I was wondering if everyone was in-character. I had a hard time with Flint's personality because I really just didn't know what he'd say or do, but apparently I did good. Thanks for reviewing and telling me! ^-^

**TooMuchAtOnce**  
Thanks! Unfortunately updating has gotten difficult with all the things happening, so sorry if I'm being… sluggish. X_x

**Miss Lol**  
Thank you! :D

**WitchJuliana**  
Thank you so, so, so much!  
Believe it or not, this has been sitting in my files, over three-fifths of the way done, for months. That epic review of yours gave me just enough inspiration to finally complete it.  
And just to let you know, it also made me really, really happy. Thanks again!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Earthbound/Mother series or anything having to do with it.

**-Commencing Chapter Eight: Caught in the Act, please wait-**

Ness groaned painfully as he tried to open his eyes. Some kind of annoying tune blared loudly from somewhere he failed to pinpoint. Vision blurred, all he managed to see were swirled grayscale colors. You know- silver, gray, white… some black… and… some other color he couldn't identify. He guessed that it was an actual color, not just things having to do with black, white, or a mix of the two. He could feel that whatever he was on- or in -was definitely moving, though.

When he tried to focus his eyes to see better all he saw was a single red word that appeared across this vision. '_ERROR_.' It was then he realized that his mechanical arm wasn't working either. _Oooh, that's not good,_ he thought to himself, trying to see what was wrong with it. Of course, his eyes failed him. However, his nose didn't. He could smell a number of things, including something rather plastic-y, which he easily identified as the seat he was sitting in, but more important than that, he could smell… smoke? Yes, almost as if something was burning. He identified that as his arm. _That's even worse_, he thought, adding onto his previous thought. And, now that he was paying a bit more attention to it, he realized there was another smell.  
It smelt like something disgusting, no, revolting, mixed with flowers. Almost as if someone ran a marathon, then got attacked by a skunk. That same person then decided roll around somewhere close by, (that Ness unsuccessfully tried to locate through eyesight,) and sprayed some air freshener… which was just about as successful as Ness' attempt to locate where the smell originated from.

"Oh pork! He's awake! What do we do?"

Ness flinched at the sound of a voice. It sounded kind of familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"What? I thought you said he wouldn't wake up!"

Although it was a different voice, he still had that odd sense of familiarity, almost as if he **should** remember who it belonged to.

"I did! I-I guess he's not fully dependant on his mechanical systems like the other."

_Other? What other? What are they talking about? _Ness wondered.

Then, suddenly, he remembered everything. _I've been captured! Taken hostage, whatever you want to call it.. I've got to get out of here!_ he thought, looking from side to side. Of course, that did him absolutely no good as his eyes were still completely useless for anything other than seeing blurred blobs of black and white.

"His eyes are mechanical. I don't think he can see right now, so he should be harmless."

He mentally cursed. As much as he'd like to disagree, whoever or whatever was talking was right. He couldn't do a thing like this. Biting his lip, he tried to think of something to do.  
After a short minute or two he finally decided to simply ask, "What's going on? Where are you taking me?"

For a moment Ness wondered if they'd even answer his questions at all, but then he heard one of them reply, "We're going to HQ. As for what's going on, we happen to be taking you to see King P."

"You were due a long while back, but because the commander malfunctioned you never made it."

"He didn't malfunction, he got his memories back! There's a big difference!" Ness barked, trying to face where he assumed the voices were coming from. After that he didn't hear much of anything besides a small squeal and lots of grunts and snorts, almost as if they were laughing. He growled at the thought, but was unable to do anything more to express his anger.

For a long time everything was silent. Ness had tried to do a number of things in that time, including somehow fix himself, but nothing worked or turned out how he wanted. He didn't even know how long it had been when he felt the object he was either on or in slow to a stop.

"Alright, here we are."  
"It looks better than when we left it!"  
"Oh, your right! Nice."  
"Quit that and take care of the prisoner!"  
"Oh! Right!"  
"We're on it!"

As soon as that was said he felt himself being pulled by his arms and onto his feet. He stumbled a minute once he was up. _Ugh, I must have been sitting there for a long time, my legs feel like lead! _he thought to himself. Before he could regain his balance he felt something quickly shove him. He yelped, trying hard not to fall to the ground. He figured that it would be pretty hard to get back up without one of his arms properly functioning.

"Come on, hurry it up," he heard a voice, different from the three before.

"I can only go so fast like this!" Ness growled, glaring at the ground since he wouldn't be able to see what he was glaring at even if he tried.

"He's blind?" another voice asked. Again, it was someone new.  
"Sort of. He has mechanical eyes, and his mechanical systems are down, so he's only temporarily blind."

"Remind me again why they're down?" Ness asked bitterly.

"You should know. You're the one who short circuited them with that PSI attack."

Ness bit his tongue as he remembered. _Oh. That's right_.. _that power.. PSI? That sounds… familiar. I wonder… Did I have that before I lost some of my memory? Maybe that's why it felt so.. natural when I used it, _he started thinking to himself.  
As he thought he didn't pay much attention to what was happening, which led to confusion when one of the voices from before said, "Alright, stay here. The door will be locked so don't even try to find it."  
Then there was a click, followed shortly by another similar click.

"Well, that was smart," Ness said sarcastically to himself.

With no way of getting out and nothing else left to do, he sat down and pulled his mechanical arm into his lap. Waiting for whatever to happen next.  
It wasn't long before he heard something, though. Whatever it was made a 'tik tik' noise on the metallic floor as it got closer. After a moment he heard a little, "peep!" and felt something small hop onto his knee. He assumed it was a bird, but, if his thoughts were right, then he was in a building where chimeras are made, and if that was so, he really couldn't know for sure. It could have been something half bird, half… something else.

It interrupted his thoughts with another, "peep!"

"You're awfully friendly… too bad I don't know what you are," Ness said, mostly to himself, as he doubted it could reply. "Hm… Well, I wonder what'll happen now?" he thought out loud, closing his eyes. He smiled when the supposed bird chirped again. He frowned when he felt it hop off of his knee. He heard a rushed 'tk tk tk tk tk' and soon after the door clicked open. He turned to the sound and tried to see who or what it was, but his attempt was once again in vain.

"Well, Ness, I was hoping that the next time we met you would have this all fixed up… But I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up," a voice said. It seemed very familiar, but no matter how hard he thought about it, Ness couldn't figure out where he had heard it before. Before he could reply he heard the voice continue. "Never mind that, though, I have to make sure and fix whatever's wrong with you and find out how to get you out of here before anything bad happens," it said.

"You're helping me? Why? Who are you?" Ness asked, confused.

"Oh, I see. You're eyes aren't working. Just wait one moment, okay?"

Ness waited in silence, trying to listen to what the mysterious person was doing. He heard a click and felt a painful spark in his robotic eyes. "Ah!" he yelped in surprise.

"Sorry," the being apologized. "This won't take but a minute."

He heard clicking and the quick movement of feet, then felt another spark of pain along his spine. This time he managed to keep his mouth shut, but couldn't help but make another, muffled yelp. A few minutes later his vision darkened and words and numbers scrolled across it.

"What the..? What is all this?" he asked, unable to read most of it.

"It's just trying to reboot your arm and eyes. You should be able to see and move in just a minute," the voice said.

And sure enough, his sight lit up a few seconds later. He flinched as his robotic eyes scrambled to adjust to the bright light. "It.. worked. I can see! That was amazing, how did you-" he cut himself off as he turned to face the one who had repaired him. He instantly recognized the man from one of his memories. "D-doctor Andonuts?" he stuttered in surprise. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, I see you still have your memories. That's a relief," the doctor said.

"You didn't answer my question…" Ness frowned.

"I was taken hostage by King P and forced to build his chimeras. I hated doing it, mind you, but there was no other way. They told me I'd be killed if I didn't," he replied, turning away.

"You made the chimeras? But.. Does that mean you made…?" Ness trailed away, unable to get himself to say it.

"You?" Andonuts finished, turning back to face him. "Yes, that's right. The king himself brought you here specifically for that purpose. He wanted you to be just another mindless slave that followed his every command. I guess it was his way of getting revenge. I… I truly am sorry, Ness."

"That's not- Wait.. The king? Revenge? For what? What did I ever do to him?" Ness cut off his first sentence to ask, confused and angered that this 'king' would threaten his friends and then turn him into a chimera.

"You don't know?" He asked. Andonuts seemed very surprised that he didn't know who the king was. Ness shook his head in reply. The doctor turned his eyes to the ground, as if thinking, then looked up and said, "Ness, You might not want to hear this, but King P is-" he cut himself off when he heard footsteps stomping down the hall. With a quick look to the door he ran over to Ness and pulled on his shoulder to get him to stand up. "It's too late! We've spent too much time! They're coming! You have to get out of here," he said urgently, and pulled on a loose panel in the floor.

Before he could get it open all the way the pigmasks walked in. In his surprise, the doctor dropped the panel back into place and backed away.

"Hey! What's he doing here?" one asked.  
"I think he was trying to help the prisoner!" another replied.  
"That calls for punishment!" yet another shouted.

"Quiet! We have to get the prisoner to room fourteen, then we'll take the doctor to King P. He'll know what to do," the first one said, grabbing Ness around his arms.

"Let go of me, Pig-face!" Ness shouted, jerking away from the pigmask. It was about that time when he realized his arm was still acting 'out-of-whack,' although better than before. He then dodged the second pigmask and ducked under the third, sliding out into a hallway. He took a quick glance back before running in the direction he hoped was where he had come from. Racing down hallways and around corners, he soon found the entrance he had come through, but to his dismay row after row of pigmasks were lined along each side leading up to it.

Behind him he heard two pigmasks shout, "Stop him! The prisoner is escaping! Someone catch him!"  
Having nowhere else to run, Ness darted past the rows of pigmasks. The pigmasks who noticed the chase going on a little too late stood dumbfounded for a minute before chasing after him, as well. Meanwhile the ones ahead of him started to block his path. He dodged two and kept running, but eventually they had formed a circle around him.

He growled with frustration, panic seeping into his subconscious.

"Haha! We've got him! We've got him!" one shouted gleefully.  
"Not yet, we don't!" Another shouted.  
"Hurry, he'll be here any minute!" was the last one as they started to close in on Ness.

He ignored them and looked around, but saw there was no escape. He took a step back, but then quickly jumped forward again when he noticed how close they were getting behind him. "Get away from me, you fat, ugly-" he stopped when he heard a loud noise. It was a mix of jets and loud music.

"Oh no! He's here! We're too late!" One of the pigmasks said.  
"What do we do?" another asked. Then Ness got confused, and slightly curious. "Who's here?" he asked.  
"Who? Who? That's the king himself!" the first replied.  
"Oooh, we're so going to be pork chop after this!" the second said.

Ness was very puzzled, and he obviously had nowhere to go at this point, so he asked, "Who is the king?" but no one answered. They were all too caught up with how much trouble they were in. At this point he might have been able to sneak through the crowd before anyone noticed, but he also wanted to know who this mysterious King P was. Before he could make that split-second decision one of the pigmasks grabbed him, and it was too late. He struggled to get free, but the white pigmask refused to let him go.  
The pigmasks got back into place, lined up on either side of the entrance way and leading all the way down the hall of the building. The white pigmask turned to hurry Ness down the hall, but it was too late. He looked a bit fearful as he tried to find out what he should do, as things hadn't quite gone according to the original plan. Finally, with nowhere else to go, he turned and saluted, his left hand holding Ness' arm tightly.

Ness watched as a huge, metallic vessel floated down from the sky before landing heavily on numerous legs. Anger and fear flooded through him as he saw two doors slide open on the side of the ship, and stairs come out beneath them. Two pigmasks appeared in the doorway and threw a red carpet down before rushing down them to stand on either side of the bottom. Ness couldn't help but think of how tacky that seemed as he watched one of the pigmasks stumble on their way down the stairs before taking his spot at the corner. His eyes suddenly flicked back to the stairs as he heard someone call from them, "Well, what do we have here? Looks like a misbehaving monster to me. Spankety, spankety, spankety!"

**-Chapter Eight has been completed, thank you for your time-**

Hehehe. What a clever cliffhanger.  
No, I'm sorry, I really am, because I know I will probably spend a lot of time on the next chapter and it will take forever, just like this one did… but hopefully you guys can bare with me.  
Please forgive me!

The problem is that I've just been so busy.. Half of my stuff is still in boxes, and almost all of my time is spent on school, with maybe an hour or two to myself. But just you wait, I WILL finish this fan fiction! I'm determined to! …Although, I have started on another Mother 3 thing, and it's really gotten me wrapped up trying to get it started, simply because of how enthusiastic I am about the plot.  
But for now, I refuse to start anything more without first finishing something!

…Also, A big thank you to everyone who helped me get over 25 reviews! YAY! -and almost 1,000 hits! :D


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